


Come Join the Club

by Cat_llie



Category: Winx Club, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: ....I swear that will make sense, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - No Quirks (My Hero Academia), Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki is a Good Friend, Bio siblings Izuku and Nana, Crossover, F/M, Fairies, Fairies aren't just female, Gen, M/M, Me @ Rainbow: I'm fixing your fucking timeline, More people give a shit about the Dragon Flame than in canon, Multi, Rated T for language, Sirenix Curse, Slow Burn, Straffi said I could adopt the kids, Winx Club AU, You could cook several pigs with this fire it's that slow, real slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 52,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21607372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_llie/pseuds/Cat_llie
Summary: Izuku was pretty sure he had a good handle on life. He had the best parents anyone could ask for, an excellent friend in Katsuki, and all in all a peaceful, normal life.That is, however, until a chance meeting with a girl named Ochako. Who just so happened to be a fairy.Suddenly a whole new world of magic is opened up to Izuku, along with his own magical abilities. Diving into this new world to better understand these powers, he meets valuable friends, dangerous enemies, and mysterious guides, all while learning far more about himself than he ever expected.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Masaru/Bakugou Mitsuki, Midoriya Hisashi/Midoriya Inko, Midoriya Izuku & Shimura Nana, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto/Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, Todoroki Shouto/Uraraka Ochako
Comments: 64
Kudos: 88





	1. Cause the Magic's in You and the Magic's in Me

**Author's Note:**

> I'M ALIVEEEEEE
> 
> Okay. So. Winx Club was my favorite show as a child. I remember waking up Saturday mornings to watch Bloom and the rest of the Club fight the Wizards of the Black Circle and then eventually Tritanus in season 5 (I grew up with the Nick dub, if you couldn't tell). I remember drawing my own OCs for the show and even dressing up as Flora for Halloween (young me had good taste). So when I fell back into this fandom a few months ago, my mind went "hey what if you made a crossover AU with the MHA characters in the Winx universe and Izuku taking Bloom's role?" And well, you can see what happened next.
> 
> A huge, HUGE shout out to Sapphiria for helping me make this AU. It would not have bloomed (heh) into this without you, and I can't thank you enough. Make sure to go give her works a read when you're done! ( https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphiria )
> 
> Also thank you to Icy (CureIcy), Ravne (ravenclawoutcast13), Baku (BakuFan15), PK (PKBackthrow), Sling (MatteBlueDragon), Dewyn (Dewyn), and Kread (KreadStornham) for helping out every now and then with ideas when I yelled at y'all. And a special thanks to Icy for beta reading this fic so it's at its best quality.
> 
> (Also. Some art for Ochako for this AU: https://catlliecal.tumblr.com/post/189363452837/so-ive-been-making-a-winxmha-au-heres-a-wip )
> 
> Now, without further ado, enjoy!

Nana could barely hear the footsteps in the hallway. The sounds of destruction from outside kept echoing in her head, the beginning of Domino’s fall flashing in front of her whenever she closed her eyes.

“Princess!” Alelina yelled out. She was dragging Nana by her hand. Her normal guard attire was decorated with a cloth wrap that held her baby child on the back. The child, who was only a few months old, was fast asleep. “Stay focused!”

“Right.” Nana couldn’t afford to worry right now. She had to focus on getting her baby brother far, far away from Domino. Far away from harm or any kind of witches who would stop at nothing to get his power.

She glanced over at Galetrio, who was holding said brother. He seemed so small in the guard’s arms, sleeping away as if today was just another day in paradise and not a total violation of their home. 

Alelina took the lead, speeding past her husband and rushing the group into a small room with a large mirror at the end.

“We…” she took a pause to breathe, “should be safe here, Princess.”

Nana took a deep breath in, feeling relief for the first time since the attack. She walked over to Galterio and pulled back one of the blankets wrapping up the child he held in his arms. She didn't have to move it far for one of the child’s soft, green curls to break out. She wrapped her finger around the curl right as he woke up. His green eyes met her own, and a huge grin broke out on his face.

“Hey there,” Nana said, smiling in response. It was hard not to smile when he did. She let go of the curl and held out her finger, which he wrapped his hands around.

Just then, what was a small moment of paradise was interrupted by the sound of rattling in the hallways. Nana gently pulled her finger away and ran towards the door. She peeked through the keyhole and held her hand up to her mouth.

She quickly turned to the guards. “Go on without me.”

“Princess, that’s crazy. There’s no way that–”

“Alelina, I admire your loyalty. I really do. But when I say to go on without me, I need you to. Go somewhere far away, where magic is simply the thing of fiction.” She looked over at her brother. “It’s the only way to keep him safe.”

Alelina looked over to Galetrio, who only nodded at his wife. Her face curled up in a combination of disgust and understanding.

“I don’t like this one bit–”

“I know you don’t.”

“–But if you really think this is what’s best, then we’ll do it. But we’re gonna come back someday. Maybe not for a really long time, but we will come back.”

A single wet tear ran down Nana’s cheek. “Thank you.”

Alelina nodded in response. “Of course, Princess.”

Something began banging on the door, demanding to get in.

Dammit. They were here.

Nana focused her energy into her spell, sending a quick burst of energy to hit the mirror, which opened a portal to hopefully somewhere safe. “Quickly. Go. Keep him safe.”

She stared at them both, watching them as they reluctantly made their way to the portal. Nana kept an especially close eye on her baby brother, who was blissfully unaware of just was going on.

God, was this really gonna be the last time she’ll ever see him? Watching him leave her? Won’t she ever be able to watch him grow up? See him take his first steps? Watch him learn about his power? Won’t she ever be able to hold him again?

Nana wiped away another tear from her eye, wondering just how it managed to sneak by her and get out. She pushed another stray one while watching the portal close. She then pulled out a dagger from her belt before charging at the mirror, shattering both it– and any chance of growing up with her brother– into thousands of pieces. As she looked at all the small reflections on the floor, she finally allowed her calm and collected mask to come off. A wave of tears fell onto the floor, decorating the shards with small drops as all the pain flew out.

She stopped crying once the doors opened up. She didn’t hear them open, but she felt what came in. Three powerful forces of darkness swept in, their combined presence weighing down hard on her and bubbling up her anger. Gasping, she dropped the dagger. As it landed on the floor with a ‘clink’, she quickly dried her eyes and put back on her emotional mask. 

“You’re a little too late if you’re after the Flame,” she said. “It’s gone somewhere you’ll never find it.” 

She watched as they writhed in hatred, their lifeless eyes burning bright yellow. “You’ll pay for that mistake dearly, Princess.”

Nana charged up her magic. “I think you’ll be the ones paying for destroying my home, Witches.”

She managed to get in the first attack, sending a blast of energy at one of the Witches. Yet that Witch disappeared into the shadows, dodging the attack.

“Ah yes,” the leader cooed, “we feel such payment, Princess.”

Nana clenched her teeth before dodging the barrage of attacks from the two visible Witches. She tried to fire a counter spell, but something struck her hard in the center of her back. She fell over in pain as the attack seared.

No. She couldn’t give up right now. She chose to stay behind and fight, and that’s exactly what she was going to do.

Nana slowly stood up while the Witches laughed at her. The final one re-emerged from the shadows, joining in her sister’s laughing.

“Forgive us, Princess,” she said, “but it seems we’ve been playing unfair. We haven’t even let you transform. Would you like to transform, fairy?”

Nana grit her teeth again, staring the witches down as she focused her energy into transforming. They were up to something. After all, who would let their enemy gain a leg up in battle? Though, it wasn’t like Nana had much of a choice. Her only hope of winning the fight was if she transformed.

“Sireni–” She flew back onto the ground in pain as the attack from earlier flared up again. This time it stung with a thousand times more fury, and it spread all over her body. It felt like her own magic had turned on her. She couldn’t move and could barely breathe. She could only watch through watery eyes as whatever curse the Witches had placed took hold.

She took one more large breath, then screamed in pain.

•••

The first thing Izuku heard was an alarm.

“Shit!” he yelled, jumping out of bed. He looked up at his mom, Inko, who from the looks of it came to wake him up. “I can’t believe I overslept! This is so unlike me! Why did I set the alarm so late?!”

He tossed off his nightshirt and quickly grabbed his uniform shirt before taking a longer look at his mom. She held her phone in her hands while a large grin decorated her face. A little too big. It looked more like a smirk the longer he looked at it.

She pressed something on her phone and the alarm stopped buzzing. She held the phone up to him to show a video that was a ten-hour loop of a generic alarm sound.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead,” she said.

Izuku felt his face flush bright red as he realized school was out for the summer. Turning back to the closet, he quickly hung up his uniform shirt and grabbed a casual one. “Why’d you do that?”

“I don’t mind you sleeping in,” she said, “but it’s ten in the morning. You didn’t stay up late again, did you?”

Izuku stayed silent as he finished pulling the shirt over his head.

“That’s what I thought,” she said, leaning down at the pile of books by his bed. She began sifting through, going from comics about spider heroes to manga about slayers of demons to–

“Fairies?” she asked.

“Uh… yeah,” Izuku replied, “it just caught my eye and I started reading it.”

“Well, I guess I can’t judge you for what you’re reading, just when you decide to read it.” She placed the books onto a table right next to the special art supplies he received for last year’s Gotcha Day. She then started walking towards the door and left the room. “Now finish getting dressed and come downstairs for breakfast,” she stuck her head back in the room. “And if you’re not down in five, I’ll come back up here and make you run errands for me today.”

“Got it, okaasan.” Not wasting any more time, Izuku grabbed a pair of pants and finished getting ready. When he finished, he rushed down the stairs to see his dad, Hisashi, placing the last of breakfast on the table.

“Well, look who's up,” he said before wrapping Izuku up in a hug, “Good to see you, Izuku.”

“It’s good to see you too, otousan,” Izuku said as he returned the hug.

“What did your mother threaten you with this time?”

“Running errands.”

“Haven’t heard that one in a while. I thought she was gonna threaten you with cleaning the apartment.”

“Hisashi,” Inko said, sneaking up behind him.

“What?” he asked, letting go of the hug. “It’s not like you actually make Izuku do what you threaten.”

“True, but that’s mainly because he gets up and doesn’t risk me being serious,” she stood up on her tiptoes and placed a quick peck on his cheek. She then turned to Izuku. “Don’t let that encourage you to try to push the envelope, Izuku.”

“I won’t, okaasan.”

“Good,” she said, wrapping her son up in a quick hug. “Now come on before breakfast gets cold.”

Izuku could already smell the food from where he was standing. It was more fragrant than normal and only got stronger the closer he got to the room. It smelled warm and delicious.

“Thought you’d like something special to celebrate the start of summer,” Inko said, “so I made some eggs and sausage on top of everything else.”

“Okaasan, you don’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense. I wanted to. Plus, your father accidentally picked up a bucket load of eggs a couple of days ago, and since we can’t take them back, it’s better to eat them than waste them.”

Hisashi let out a nervous chuckle. “Let’s just dig in, shall we?”

The three of them sat down, everyone taking a little bit of everything. Hiashi seemed to drown his plate in eggs, his rice being covered by a sunny-side-up blanket.

“Okaasan, otousan, is it okay if I spend today with Katsuki-chan?” Izuku asked, “I promise to be back for dinner.”

“I don’t have any problem with that, Izuku,” Hisashi answered. “Besides, Mitsuki and Masaru are supposed to come over today, so it’s not Inko and I will have a ton of time to spend with you today.”

“You’re planning the vacation, right?” Izuku asked before looking up at one of the kitchen walls as he dug into his rice. Hung on the walls were two rows of photos. The top row was filled with several photos of Izuku, from him as a baby to when he started his first day of high school three months ago. The bottom row was filled with photos of both the Bakugous and the Midoriyas, all from vacations the families had taken together. In every single photo, Izuku was right next to Katsuki, the two of them inseparable, brothers in everything but blood.

“That’s right,” Inko said. “And maybe this is the year I manage to convince them if we can travel out of Japan. It’s strange, every year I mention the idea, they clam up and tell me it’s impossible. Though, this time I’ve been setting aside part of my paycheck, so money shouldn’t be an issue. Hopefully.”

“I never noticed that,” Izuku said, stuffing more rice into his mouth. 

“It is strange,” Hisashi said, “Just a couple years ago, Masaru turned down a great opportunity to expand his business simply because the expansion meant he’d have to fly out of the country for the occasional business trip.”

“Perhaps they just don’t like planes?” Inko suggested. “Though, I feel bad for them if they do. After all, it’s hard to move to Japan without taking a plane.”

“You could adopt a fear of anything later on in life,” Hisashi said. “I mean, I wasn’t born with my fear of llamas.”

“You’re afraid of llamas?” Izuku asked.

“Yes,” Hisashi said, “But that’s not important!” He turned to towards his wife. “If it was a fear of planes, couldn’t they just tell us about that? As soon as it’s brought up, they dodge the subject entirely. It sometimes feels like they’re afraid to leave Japan, as if leaving the country means exposing something about them.”

“Honey,” Inko said, “Why don’t you leave the crazy ideas to me? After all, I’m the one writing for a living.”

“Hold up,” Hisashi said, “I swear I can explain this theory.”

“Besides,” Inko continued, “if they did have something to hide, wouldn’t have it been found when they moved here fifteen years ago?”

As Hisashi tried to explain his theory and Inko kept trying to shut him down, Izuku zoned out, mindlessly finishing off his eggs while his mind wandered over to his neighbors. He’d known them forever. They were practically family. If his dad was right and they were hiding something, what could it have been?

Izuku reached to grab some more food but found an empty plate. He slid out of his seat, dropping off his plate at the sink.

“Bye, okaasan! Otousan! Love ya!” he cried out as he slipped on a pair of dark gray shoes. As he ran out the door, he could hear his parents call out “love you too” at him.

He ran next door, even though there was no reason to. He rang the doorbell and waited, his hands fiddling with his shirt.

Mitsuki opened up the door, a dishrag in her hands. Her dirty blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail.

“Hey there,” she said, rubbing her hand through his hair. “Good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Izuku replied.

“Let me guess. You’re here to see Katsuki, aren’t cha?”

Izuku nodded.

“Thought so,” she turned her head back into the house. “Katsuki! Izuku is here!”

“Coming!” he called out. Footsteps filled the hallways before Katsuki made his was to the front door.

“Don’t be surprised if your father and I aren’t here whenever you come back,” she said, “We’ll be visiting with Inko and Hisashi today.”

“Yeah, okaasan. Got it,” Katsuki said. He was in some ways the black sheep of the family, the only one to use regularly honorifics. There have been a few times Izuku would overhear Katsuki’s parents use honorifics, but it was mainly limited to business calls. It seemed like even after fifteen years, they had never quite adjusted to using them daily.

Katsuki ran on ahead and Izuku followed suit. The two traveled to just about every corner of the city, randomly entering buildings, and only really stopping when it came for lunch a few hours later. They kept running what seemed aimlessly until reaching the entrance to the forest outside the city.

“So, any reason you wanted to come out here?” Izuku asked.

“Nah. Not really,” he answered. “Kinda wanted to get away from everyone, so I guess I came here.”

“Well then,” Izuku said, “let’s head in.”

The two made their way through the forest in a familiar silence, pushing branches out of the way as needed. Water droplets sprinkled on them from last night’s rain. They keep walking until reaching the river. What once was a peaceful, clean area that could have been used for fishing had now been dug deep and dumped with leftover concrete blocks among other things. Yet the log to cross it, while worn with age, still stood.

“Any idea of where we might go this year?” Izuku asked.

“No clue,” Katsuki said, as he stepped on the log. “Couldn’t find any clues last night. What about you?”

“Nothing,” Izuku said, “Maybe I’ll find something late– gah!”

Izuku’s foot slipped on the wet wood, and a chunk gave out. He lost his balance as he fell over into the river. He felt his descent stop as Katsuki grabbed one of his hands.

“Gees, I can’t take my eyes off you one second,” he sighed. “Now come on up and–shit!”

It looked like something got caught in his eye the exact moment Katsuki lost his balance. His foot slipped and he too fell over. There was nothing for them to hold onto, nothing to stop their descent.

Except something did stop them.

They did stop falling.

“Are you two alright? Be bad if you both fell in.”

Izuku looked up and gasped. He was absolutely flabbergasted. Out of nowhere, a girl who looked around their age had come in and managed to grab Katsuki’s free hand. She had brown eyes and short, brown hair that was held back by a headband, sans two prominent strands that framed her face. She was wearing a sleeveless pink dress with a deep pink stripe down the middle and wore pink boots that ran past her knees. Izuku could also make out a pair of a glove-like bands on both her wrists. But that wasn’t what made him gasp. No. What made him gasp was what the girl had on her back.

On her back, this girl had wings. Genuine, real, fairy wings. They were flapping like crazy as she was holding him and Katsuki in the air.

“Hold on,” she said, her wings flapping even harder. “Just let me pull you both up.”

The three of them rose out of the ravine. Izuku placed both feet onto the ground before letting go of Katsuki’s hand. He watched in awe as the girl lowered him down and let him go once his feet touch the ground. Her wings slowed down in pace and stopped completely once she too had landed on the ground.

“Glad I was able to make it in time,” she said, “or that could have ended badly, huh?”

“Yeah…” Izuku said as he kept staring at her. Surely his eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Surely the girl in front of him right now wasn’t a real fairy.

“I guess we should introduce ourselves,” the girl said as she rubbed her wrists together. “I’m Ochako.”

“Midoriya Izuku…” he sputtered out, “and over there is–”

“Bakugo Katsuki,” said boy interrupted.

“What long names,” the girl, Ochako, said. “Anyways, could one of you point me in the right direction? I was making my way to UA for the new school year, but I accidentally fired off the dimensional travel device a bit too early. The only model I could easily afford was a one time use, so I’ll need to go buy another one. Hopefully, it isn’t too much here…”

“Did you hit your head or something?” Katsuki asked, “You’re talking crazy.”

“Katsuki-chan!” Izuku called out, looking over at him.

“What?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Just stating the truth.”

“You could be less blunt about it!” Izuku turned back to Ochako. “Sorry about Katsuki-chan. Subtlety isn’t really something he’s good at.”

Ochako just stared at them. “Talking crazy? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, um,” Izuku said, “it’s just you’re talking about dimensional travel so casually and such, and no one’s really been able to figure that out yet.”

“No one’s been able to figure it out yet?” Ochako repeated, “I’m sorry if I’m being rude, but you’re the ones who sound crazy.”

“Huh?” Izuku asked.

“Eh?” Katsuki spat.

“Yeah,” Ochako said, “Dimensional travel has been figured out for decades now! It’s the primary form of transportation in the Magic Dimension. Well, at least for going from planet to planet that is. It’s the main reason a Solarian girl like me could be able to attend a school in Magix.”

“Magix?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah, Magix! You know, the capital city of the Magic Dimension, home to the best three schools out there?”

Izuku kept staring at her, and judging by how Ochako looked at Katsuki, he was probably staring as well.

“Wait,” Ochako asked, “Just where am I?”

“Musutafu,” Izuku answered.

“No, no. Not like a city. Like larger.”

“Japan?” Izuku said.

“No, no! Even larger!”

“You’re on Earth, bitch,” Katsuki answered.

Ochako’s face twisted into panic. “Earth? But, how?” She buried her face into her hands. “Don’t tell me I put in the wrong code to the one place in the universe without magic.”

Izuku reached out an arm and placed it on her shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay, I think. Still not really sure what’s going on, but I promise to help you.”

Ochako lifted her hands up and looked Izuku in the eyes. “Thanks.”

“No prob–”

A large thudding sound vibrated through the forest as it approached the three. They all turned toward the source.

“What the Hell?” Katsuki asked.

“Uh… I might have left out the fact that the reason I placed in my code so fast was because I was trying to escape from someone,” Ochako said.

“What?!” Both boys asked, looking back at her.

“I thought I escaped him! It looks like I didn’t.”

The source of the sound finally showed themselves. Surrounded by an army of small, red ghouls was big ogre with yellow skin, brown overalls, and sideburns framing his square jaw. 

“Say,” Ochako said, voice cracking, “I don’t suppose that you two ever wanted to fight a real, genuine ogre before, have ya?”

“No,” Izuku answered, “Not particularly.”

“Too bad,” Ochako said, “Otherwise it would have been your lucky day.”

“Fairy!” the ogre yelled out, “You weren’t supposed to escape!”

“Well, in my defense, I really didn’t want to get captured.”

The ogre clenched his fists together. “Ghouls!” He pointed towards Ochako. “Get her!”

The ghouls started running out of the woods on all four. Ochako shifted her feet stood her ground. “Stand back!”

She pulled her hands back towards her chest. “Zero-G Burst!” She cried out, shoving her hands forward. A sphere of light pink energy flew out and landed right in the middle of the pack, scattering the pack all over the grass. A couple of them even poofed into nothingness. 

The ogre cried out again and a new wave of ghouls started rushing towards them.

“Gravi Pulse!” Ochako clapped her hands together and vibration shook through the area. Waves of pink energy flared out in front of her and send the pack back several meters.

“That’s not fair!” the ogre called out.

“If you wanted an easy battle, you chose the wrong fairy!” Ochako said. “‘Cause the fairy of gravity won’t go down without a fight!”

Izuku watched in awe as she started running towards the ogre, her hands warming up for another attack. He didn’t turn away except for when Katsuki shook him.

“Dude, run!”

“Huh?” Izuku focused back in front of him to see another pack of ghouls rushing towards him. He started backing up, but stopped as he remembered the ravine right behind him. There wasn’t much room on the sides for them to run either, the shrubbery thick and plentiful.

“Get back!” He called out, moving his arms into a cross block. He closed his eyes as he braced for the attack, but nothing hit him.

“What the…” Katsuki said, “What did you do?”

“Do what?”

“Open your eyes, idiot, and look!”

Izuku opened up his eyes and saw an orange-tinted dome surrounding them both. As he lowered his arms, the dome fell down and disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared.

He turned towards Katsuki before looking back at Ochako. The girl’s eyes were lit up like the stars.

“I guess magic on Earth isn’t dead after all!” She said. “Think you can help me out here?”

“I don’t even know what I just did, much less how I did it,” He said, voice shaking.

“Well, figure out how you did it and do it again!” Katsuki said.

Izuku looked down at his hands as his mind racked for answers. Yet as he tried to figure out how he had brought up the dome, doubts flooded his mind. Surely all of this wasn’t real, right? He didn’t just create a dome to keep a pack of ghouls from attacking him and Katsuki. He couldn’t do that because magic wasn’t real, right? It shouldn’t be real. And even if it was, how would he have it? This all had to be a dream, every part of it. Any moment now he’d wake up and find himself back in his bedroom, away from the world of ghouls, ogres, and fairies.

“Piss off!” Katsuki called out, snapping Izuku back into reality. He turned around to see his best friend grab a ghoul that threw itself at him. Shortly after grabbing the ghoul, something in Katsuki’s hand sparked, and the ghoul was sent flying into the air by a small explosion.

“Holy shit,” Katsuki said, looking down at his hand. “How did that happen?”

“Well,” Izuku said, “it’s simple. You just figure out how you did it, then you do it again!”

Katsuki flashed a smirk at him. “Heh. Very clever, Izuku-chan,” he said before turning back to the ghouls that were surrounding them. 

They ran into the fray, Izuku’s martial art muscle memory kicking into full gear as he fended the ghouls off. Katsuki did the same, his attacks accompanied by the occasional magical explosion from his hands, which was always accompanied by some sort of exclamation to get away.

Izuku turned back towards Ochako and saw the ogre had cornered her. She was surrounded by trees and ghouls, and she was clutching her right arm in pain.

“Can’t run away anymore, now can ya?” the ogre said.

Ochako started to stand up, but was pulled back down by a ghoul.

“Now just stay still. My bosses just want me to bring you back to them. Just don’t try to fight and this will all be over soon.”

“Fat chance,” Ochako said.

“You wanna test that out?” The ogre said. He moved closer to her, the ghoul wall following their master’s lead.

“Hey!” Izuku shouted. He began running towards the ogre, his feet moving all on their own. It was as if something in him went into autopilot, and all he could do now was to protect the girl who saved him.

The ogre turned around just in time to catch Izuku’s punch. He picked him up by both hands and swung him around like a rag doll.

“What are you gonna do now?” he said, tightening his grip. “Keep this up and I’ll bring you to my bosses along with the fairy. They’ll know how to deal with troublemakers like you. They’ll make you regret ever sticking your neck out for this stranger.”

That last sentence struck like a knife. “What?!”

“You deaf or something?! You’re gonna have a bad time, all for a stranger who probably won’t even remember you in a week!”

Something inside Izuku snapped. It was as if a hidden power had awoken from a slumber, waiting for years for his anger to activate it. An unknown yet familiar force ran through his veins, energy surging throughout. It felt like everything in his body was in perfect harmony.

“You leave us alone!” Izuku felt his skin warm up as he felt something leave him. The ogre dropped him, muttering cries about how he had “burned up.” Izuku felt the thing re-enter him, and a final wave of heat spread over the area. From what he could see, it charred the grass and destroyed most of the ghouls, but strayed away from both Katsuki and Ochako. It was as if the thing knew to protect them. 

Izuku looked back at the ogre, whose hand was now smoked with what was at least a second-degree burn. Izuku looked back at himself as he stood up. His skin wasn't burned in the slightest, but his clothes were. Holes covered both his shirt and pants, the threads holding charred parts weak and fraying. His shoe souls were burnt with various holes. Izuku shook his left leg, and part of the pant fell off. A random ghoul ran by and picked it up. Whatever had just happened, it nearly destroyed his clothes.

He turned to both Ochako and Katsuki. Ochako was standing up, still holding her right arm. Both of them were completely intact, and both of them had astonished expressions on their faces.

The silence was broken by the ogre’s loud yell. “This isn’t over, fairies!” He cried. He gestured for the remaining ghouls to return to him. They ran up like moths to a light, one of them still holding onto Izuku’s pant leg in its mouth. The ogre clapped his hands together, and he and his minions disappeared.

As soon as they were gone, Ochako ran right up to Izuku. “That. Was. Amazing!” She said, clasping his hands with hers. “You ran right up to him and unleashed that epic attack! Are you sure you aren’t a beginner, cause I wanna know how you made your fire look like a dragon!”

“I, uh…” Izuku said, looking back at Katsuki. 

“Fuck if I know,” he said, “I’m just glad it scared that ass and his cronies away.”

“Yeah…” Izuku said again, now looking at Ochako. His eyes drifted down towards her right arm, which was dripping with blood from her wound. “What happened? Did I hurt you?”

Ochako looked down at her arm. “I’m okay. Really. One of the ghouls just managed to land in a nasty scratch, that’s all.”

“You sure? No infections?” He asked. Looking closer at the wound, he noticed how the blood dripping from her had a metallic shine to it, like clusters of stars were in her veins. “You sure your blood is supposed to look like that?”

“Hm?” She looked down at her wound. “Yeah, don’t worry. It’s always looked like this. Pretty much everyone back home has the same. Unless you’re from another realm and just moved to Solaria.” 

“We should get that treated,” Katsuki said, making his way over towards the two of them. “Consider it thanks for saving us earlier.”

“Well, if you insist,” Ochako said, scratching the back of her head.

As soon as she lowered back down her hand, a mysterious purple wrap closed itself around her good arm. As Izuku tried to process it, he found his own wrist tied up as well. Katsuki tried to dodge it, but the mystery wrap closed in on him too.

“Oi. What gives?” He shouted.

Izuku looked at the source of the wraps and saw them coming from within the forest. The source began approaching, and an unkempt middle-aged man showed up. The wraps were all gathered in his left fist, while his right hand held a pink suitcase.

“What were the three of you doing?” He asked, stopping in place. He let go of the suitcase, placing it on the ground.

They just stared at him.

“I would have assumed you’d know better than not to use magic on Earth,” He continued as he resumed his walk. “Especially a UA student,” He said while pointing at Ochako.

“It was in self-defense, Sir, I promise!” Ochako said, “Well, it wasn’t so much self-defense transforming to save these two from falling into the ravine behind us, but everything with the ogre was!”

“I know about the ogre,” the man said, “I saw the fight. Including the grand finale,” He looked at Izuku, and he felt the man’s eyes stare straight into his soul. Even if he could get out of the wraps, his feet were frozen in fear.

“Sir, I can assure you, I don’t know how I did that at the end,” Izuku squeaked, “or how I really did anything in that fight. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”

The man kept staring at him. Izuku looked back at him, hoping that the man wouldn’t pick up on his fear if he made eye contact. He tried to keep his muscles from trembling, but he felt both his hands shake.

“You’re not lying to me, are you?” The man said, “You, and your spiky hair friend over here too, have never used magic before today?”

“That’s right,” Izuku said, “Uh, Sir!”

He turned towards Katsuki, “Your friend here. Is he telling the truth?”

Katsuki stood up straight. “He is, Sir.”

The man turned back to Izuku. Izuku gulped.

“I’m not letting you two off the hook just yet. You two and the young lady here all broke the ‘no magic’ rule. But if you’re both telling the truth, and it really is your first time, then I suppose I can give you both some grace.”

Izuku sighed, and Katsuki followed suit.

“Just to be clear,” the man said again, “If I do find out you’re both lying, your punishment will double. Now, do either of you want to change your stories then?”

Izuku looked the man right in the eyes. “No, Sir. We want to keep our stories as they are.”

The man looked back at Izuku. “Hm. You’re either honest, a compulsive liar, or a fool. Or some combination of the three.”

He let go of his right hand and all the wraps disappeared into thin air. He walked back towards the suitcase before bringing it to Ochako. “I believe this is yours, young lady.”

She grabbed it from his hands. “Thank you! I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Here’s how,” he said, “Don’t use any more magic while you’re here.”

Ochako nodded. “I will, Sir.”

Izuku rubbed his now freed arm. “Sir, if you don’t mind, could Katsuki-chan and I bring Ochako back to my house? We promised her–”

“–that you’d bandage her arm to repay her,” the man finished. “And you may. I will just be coming along with you to take Ochako to UA when you’re done.”

“UA?” Ochako said, “Do you know the staff?”

“I should hope so,” he said, “It be bad if I didn’t know my colleagues.”

“Hold up. You work there?” Katsuki said.

“I do,” he said. “I’m the Head of discipline, as well as the Vice Headmaster.”

Ochako stood straight like a board. “I promise I’m not a trouble maker like this, Sir!”

“Even if you are one, at least you’re one with a good heart,” he said, “Now, shouldn’t we go get your arm taken care of?”

“Right!” she said. 

The man waved his arm toward the ravine, and a purple-tinted plank appeared over the log.

“I’m assuming you two almost fell in because the log isn’t as strong anymore. Can’t have that happening again.”

Izuku and Katsuki nodded.

The four of them started making their way towards the Midoriya household. After they hand crossed the bridge, Katsuki turned back to Ochako.

“Can you hide the wings?” He asked. “We here on Earth aren’t used to seeing wings unless it’s Halloween. And I’m guessing that this guy here doesn’t want you showing them either.

“Right!” Ochako said. She breathed out, and the wings disappeared, along with the outfit. He hair was no longer held back by a headband, and she now wore tennis shoes, socks, jean shorts with polka-dots, and a white shirt with small, goofy sleeves. On her shirt was a light blue pin, its design featuring a ring and a circle with straight lines connecting them.

‘She looks cute,’ Izuku thought. He cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s get going.”  
•••  
Knut the ogre pulled one of his overall straps up. He then walked into the center of the room, fog covering up the surrounding walls. He didn’t want to be here right now. His bosses scared him when they were angry, and they were going to be angry at his lack of a fairy. But he had nowhere else to run off to, and he had to get away from that crazy kid with the fire.

“Knut!” the leader called out from the fog. His voice was raspy, dry, and soft, yet vibrated through as if someone had yelled at the top of their lungs. “I see you’re empty-handed. Did you fail the mission?”

“It wasn’t my fault, you’re wickednesses!” Knut said as he got down on his knees. “I found one and I nearly had her in my hands when–”

“Hey,” the second voice said. Her voice was dripping with an artificial sweetness, yet her annoyance was shining through. “you’re facing the wrong way, ya doof. You’re wearing your glasses, right?”

Knut gulped. He reluctantly put them on, not like they’d help much in the darkness and fog anyways. He felt so silly wearing them. After all, whoever heard of an ogre wearing glasses? Much less one that would be taken seriously and feared. He turned around and looked up. He could make out three pairs of glowing yellow eyes. 

“Now finish up,” the third voice said. His voice was also dry, but unlike the first, it was deep and jaded. His vowels also drawled out longer than the other two.

“Right,” Knut said, “You see, I did almost have the fairy in my hands, but there were these two Earthling boys that got in my way.”

The second voice cut him off and started laughing. Her voice was a horrifying combination of childlike and maniacal. “You’re telling us that a couple of Earthlings, humans, got in your way?”

“Stop it,” the first voice said, “Don’t interrupt an NPC when they speak. It’s rude. And it annoys me. Now, let him finish.”

Knut gulped again, “Well, you see, these Earthlings were different. They were more like fairies than humans. They were both able to fend off my ghouls, and one of them managed to burn my hand.” He held it up towards them. The burn had cooled down by that point, and there were noticeable cracks on his palm that dug into his skin.

“That’s the work of fire, all right,” the third voice said.

“Hey, I want to meet this fire Earthling. Can you run that fetch quest for me?” The first voice asked.

“I’m not sure what a fetch quest is, but I can bring back the Earthling for you if you want,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of cloth, its edged charred by fire. “One of my ghouls grabbed a piece of his clothing. Now if we just give this to a hunting troll, we’ll be able to find him.”

The voices were silent. Seconds felt like minutes as Knut awaited their response.

“You may have the troll,” the first voice said, “But this time…”

“Don’t screw up,” all three voices spoke in unison.

Knut felt chills roll down his back. “I won’t, your wickednesses!”

‘I sure hope so,’ he thought, ‘I don’t wanna see if the rumors about failure are true.’


	2. Believe in Yourself, That's How it Starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magical questions get magical answers and past secrets get revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays, everyone!
> 
> This chapter ended up much longer than I expected, to be honest. I guess because there's a lot of world-building/info-dumping and it all had to be placed together. Either way, it just grew and grew and grew.
> 
> Also, small shout-out to Kread for mentioning a small idea during one of our conversations that I ended up using. And another shout-out to the members of the Winx Discordix server for also helping me with some of the smaller world-building tips. Y'all are all awesome!
> 
> I don't wanna keep you all waiting, so here you go!

Mitsuki walked up to the window, a cup of coffee in her hand. She took a sip as she looked out over the city. It didn’t take long for this place to grow on her. It would never compare to her home, with all its wonders and memories. But that didn’t make it any less special.

Her mind began drifting elsewhere when she noticed something shining in the sky. It didn’t stay for long, but it was long enough for her to be able to make the figure out. It was a translucent orange, appeared to leave a trail of flames, and was shaped like a dragon…

Mitsuki dropped the coffee as she took a step backwards. The cup landed on the floor with a large clatter, but she didn’t hear it. No. All she could focus on was what she just saw. It was special, so out of the ordinary. 

It was also something she thought she’d last saw nearly sixteen years ago.

Her mind returned to reality as she heard her husband run into the room. “What happened? I heard a noise, and before that I saw something weird reflected from the windows and I–”

“Masaru,” she said, “Forget the coffee. We’re going over to the Midoriyas right now.”

“But why?”

“Because,” she said, making her way to the stairs. “We’re going to need to be there to explain things if what I think is happening is actually happening.”  
•••  
The walk home was awkward to say the least. No one seemed to pay much attention to them. Well, okay, that was a lie. The mysterious man received some judgmental glances, most likely on his casual and un-teacher like clothes if Izuku had to guess. Izuku himself also received his fair share of glances too, reminding him of the current state of his clothing. The atmosphere around them felt thick and scared off Izuku from attempting any form of friendly conversation. When they arrived back at his house, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Okassan? Otousan?” Izuku called out, “Katsuki-chan and I are back, and we brought some, uh, visitors along.”

Izuku slipped off his shoes, looking closer at the holes in them. There was no hope of saving this pair. He didn’t see anyway they could be salvaged.

He turned towards Ochako and the man. “You both need to take your shoes off at the front of the house,” he said. 

Ochako looked at him slightly confused, but slipped off her shoes and started to pull off her socks.

“You don’t need to do that,” Izuku said, “your socks are fine.”

Ochako looked up at him as her pulled the sock back up. She walked over towards Izuku before looking back at her shoeless Vice Headmaster.

Why are you all looking at me?” He asked, “Are you waiting for my blessing?”

“It’s nothing,” she said.

Izuku walked into the kitchen, where both his parents were sitting at the table. The food from breakfast had been replaced with various brochures and papers, and Katsuki’s parents were sitting down with his own.

“Izuku, you’re back early,” Inko said, “First Mitsuki and Masaru rush in here and then–” she looked at her son. “What happened to you? Are you okay? Did someone attack you? Why do you look like that?”

“I’m not really sure myself,” he said, “Listen, could I go change first, and then I’ll do my best to explain what happened and who these visitors are, I promise.”

“Well I would hope so,” Inko said.

“Thanks,” He hugged his mom before heading towards the stairs. 

“By the way, the girl needs medical treatment!” he said. “Could you pull out the first aid kit?”

Inko nodded. “Of course.”

Izuku made his way up the stairs and he heard Katsuki trail behind him.

He entered his room and let Katsuki in before closing the door. “Why’d you follow me?” He asked.

“What else? To make sure you were okay.” He said as he sat down on Izuku’s bed.

“You don’t need to do that. I’m okay, really,” Izuku said as he pulled off his shirt. As soon as it came off his head, some of the threads snapped and part of the shirt fell onto the ground. He looked at what was still left in his hands. The top of Captain America’s shield could still be seen. He took in a whiff of it, the smell of smoke and ashes intense. God, if it stained his clothes this bad the odor must be sticking to him. He could hop in the shower and wash it away, but Izuku didn’t want to keep everyone waiting for longer than they had to.

“Earth to Izuku,” Katsuki said. Izuku gasped and dropped the rest of his shirt.

“See, this is what I’m talking about,” he said, “You don’t zone out like this unless something bad happened. And we both saw the shit that went down in the woods today. You’re clearly not okay.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Izuku pulled out one of his t-shirts with the ‘shirt’ kanji on them. He slipped it on, sinking in the cozy feeling of the cotton blend.

“I guess, I just don’t really understand what happened. Well, I know what actually happened, but I’m still trying to understand just how it happened. How could I have unleashed something that left both my clothes and the grass burnt to a crisp? And why didn’t it hurt me? Or you or Ochako-san for that matter?” Izuku sighed as he pulled out a new pair of pants and boxers. “When that happened, it felt like something was born in me. Like I had found the missing key and was able to unlock a part of myself. But I don’t know what that thing is or how to control it.”

He kicked off his old pants and boxers then pulled up the new ones before sitting next to Katsuki on the bed. “I’m scared, Kacchan. I’m scared and I don’t know what to do.”

He leaned into Katsuki as Katsuki wrapped an arm around him.

“Must be bad if you’re using that nickname again.”

“Yeah,” Izuku said.

“Listen,” Katsuki said, “I’m scared too. I don’t know what’s happening to either of us too, and I don’t like not knowing that. But I also know I’m not gonna find out what’s going on if I let my fear hold me back.

“So when you’re ready, we’ll go down together. Deal?”

“Deal.”

The two sat together, the silence comforting them as the world shrunk to just the two of them. All the fear seemed to shrink in size as all Izuku focused on was how Katsuki and his sheets felt.

There was a soft knock on the door. “Hello? Did I find the right room?”

Izuku lifted his head up. “Ochako-san?”

“Yeah. Can I come in?” She asked.

“Sure,” Izuku said.

Ochako opened up the door, her right arm all bandaged up. “Uh, you see, I came up to tell you that everyone is waiting for you two downstairs. When you’re ready to come down, that is.”

Izuku looked at Katsuki before looking back at Ochako.

“I think I am.”

Ochako walked out of the room, her footsteps echoing down the hall and on the stairs. As the steps grew fainter and fainter, Katsuki stood up and walked up to the door. Izuku pushed himself off the bed and followed behind him.

Ochako was waiting at the foot to the stairs and she brought them into the living room. Both Inko and Hisashi were standing next to the bookshelf while Mitsuki and Masaru stood by the kitchen. The mysterious man was sitting on the couch and Ochako sat down on the other side.

Katsuki leaned against the opening frame next to the corner of the room and Izuku stood by him, not really sure where to go. Nobody spoke, everyone too afraid or nervous to say anything.

“Are you all serious?” Mitsuki finally asked, “Someone, start talking and explain what happened to make Izuku look like he walked into a bonfire!”

“Well, you see,” Ochako started, “He saved my life. Actually, both your son… uh,” Ochako kept switching between looking at the Midoriyas and the Bakugous. “Actually, I’m not sure who Midoriya Izuku’s parents are.”

“We are,” Inko said, “I’m Midoriya Inko, and my husband, Midoriya Hisashi.”

“Wait,” Ochako said, “Your last name is ‘Midoriya’?”

“I’m guessing you don’t do that where you’re from?” Hisashi said.

“Yeah…” Ochako said, fiddling her hands together. “Though, I should have guessed. I mean, what kind of person has a super long name like that?”

“Get back on track,” the man said.

“Right, Sir,” Ochako said, “Anyways, your son’s friend saved me from an ogre attack! He unleashed this really cool fire dragon effect that flew into the sky and scared the ogre right away! You should have seen it! It was incredible!”

“We saw,” Mitsuki said, “It be hard to miss if you weren’t looking at the sky.”

Izuku felt his cheeks flare up.

“Huh. But anyways, he kept the ogre from attacking me and even managed to burn him too! Along with his clothing. But before the ogre attacked us, I flew in to keep your sons from falling into the ravine. At the last second too, since Baku– I mean, since Katsuki had just fallen off an old log there.”

“Hold on,” Inko raised her hand up. “This is all too magical to sound real. Ochako-san, are you sure you’re really okay? Maybe you hit your head?”

“Inko,” Masaru said, “I know she’s fine. I made sure to check while patching her up. Please, let her continue.”

Izuku looked at Mitsuki and Masaru and noticed something strange in their eyes. It looked a bit like nostalgia, a longing for a time past. He glanced over at his mom, who looked like she had picked up on the same feelings too.

“There really isn’t much else to say, really. Katsuki also used magic, but nothing on Izuku’s level. And when the fight was over, this man here approached us. He said he was going to take me to UA tomorrow morning for the new school year. I’m going there to learn how to use my powers better and become a stronger fairy.”

“And you are…” Inko asked.

“Shouta,” the man said, “Aizawa Shouta.”

“Shouta,” Mitsuki whispered. Both Izuku and Inko looked back to her. It sounded like she had heard the name before. But how? This man was from a whole other dimension. She was just a woman from Italy.

“That’s really it,” Ochako said. “I do have to say, both of you raised wonderful fairies. I don’t think I would have escaped the ogre if it weren’t for their bravery and determination.”

“A fairy? Me?” Izuku asked. Katsuki stood up as well.

“Well, yeah! I mean, the way you both used your magic today, it felt like fairy magic! Wouldn’t you say so, Aizawa, Sir?”

Aizawa nodded.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow at both of them. “Got any proof of that? I mean, besides the crap that went down earlier. Cause other than that, I just can't wrap my head around that fact.”

Ochako tapped her finger on her chin, as if deep in thought. “If I remember correctly, there should be a physical sign… I know my old teacher told me there was.”

“Your teacher was talking about the marks, right?” Aizawa said.

Her fist struck her palm as her face lit up. “That’s it! Now I remember!” She looked over at Izuku. “Could you take off your shirt?”

“Huh?” Izuku asked, flabbergasted.

“I know it sounds weird, but it won’t be,” she said. “I just need you to take it off for a minute, then you can put it back on. I promise.”

Izuku looked into her eyes, which were ringing with hope and longing. Having to half-way strip in front of a couple of strangers was weird, but normal had long been thrown out the window.

“Alright,” he sighed. He pulled off his shirt, bundling it up in his hands. “What next?”

“Stay still,” Ochako said, walking behind him. Her cold fingers touched the upper part of his back. “If I remember the lesson correctly, the difference should be right around… here!” She paused right on top of his shoulder blades before gently tracing her fingers down his back.

“I didn’t think of how embarrassing this would be,” she said, “Sorry there, Izuku.”

“No, no,” he said, “it’s not embarrassing at all.”

“Then why is your face red?” Katsuki smirked.

“Uh,” Izuku paused.

“No matter,” Ochako said, “because I got my proof!”

“How so?” Inko asked.

“She’s checking to see if he has the marks,” Aizawa said.

“Marks?” Hisashi asked. “Like a kind of tattoo?”

“I guess you could say that,” Aizawa said. “You see, even those with little magical power have marks on their backs. They tend to be faint, though fairies tend to have darker marks since that’s where their wings emerge from.”

Aizawa’s words swam around Izuku’s head. Small memories began to play, the kind of memories that aren’t that impactful but are kept around aways. Memories being alone while looking back at mirrors. Memories of him reaching back to trace his back, trying to better understand the strange, symmetrical lines that ran down. He never quite understood them. At first he thought they were scars, but they never faded away. They seemed to grow along with him. What was even stranger was that he had seen Katsuki with the same marks. It could have been a conscience, but it was highly doubtful. Besides, any possibility of them being scars was wiped away when they started slightly puffing up a little less than a war ago. There wasn’t a single medicine or cream out there that pushed the bumps back down. To have them be some kind of magical development… well, it certainly wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

“Well,” Inko said, bringing Izuku back into reality. “If the fae had wings and magic, and we all supposedly descended from them, how come I’m not seeing marks left and right when I go to the beach?”

“Wings require magic,” Aizawa said. “It’s very likely that your answers lost their magic somewhere, and it stopped passing down in families. No magic, no wings. No wings, no marks.”

“Huh,” Inko said, “Still, I’m quite surprised I’m only learning of these things on my son’s back now. You think a doctor would have pointed them out, not let them go unnoticed…”

“Well,” Aizawa said, “your doctors were most likely idiots then.”

Inko glanced over at Masaru, who was looking anywhere but back at Inko. “Guess I missed that detail all these years.”

“Though,” Aizawa said, ignoring Masaru. “There are other ways to prove someone’s magic status without checking the back. Think hard, Ms. Midoriya. Mr. Midoriya. Has your son ever acted strange or had odd habits?”

“I’m not sure if you’d call it odd,” Inko said, “but every single winter we find Izuku next to a fire or a heater or some other source of warmth. More than the average person.”

As Izuku pulled his shirt back on, his mind dwindled on his mother’s statement. He had never been a fan of winters, greatly preferring the warmth of the summer and the sun. But many people didn’t like the cold, right? Surely there was nothing magical about his preference for the heat?

“That’s magical,” Aizawa said, “Your son showed off having fire magic. Fire users have a higher body temperature than other people, and they seek out heat when it’s cold. Their bodies will adjust to the cold, but his magic was likely so buried that his body never responded to adjust to the cold, nor did it ever rise up beyond the normal body temperature. Thus, he sought out external heat.”

Okay, maybe there _was_ something magical about his preference for the heat.

“As for your child,” he looked over at the Bakugos, “I’d imagine something similar has happened to your son. Explosion style magic is categorized under the fire elemental, so he’d also prefer warmth to the cold. Though, not as much as a raw fire elemental.”

“He has always shown a preference for the heat,” Masaru said.

“Has there been any other strange occurrences with either of your children?” Aizawa asked.

“There is one thing,” Mitsuki said, “Once, Katsuki broke his leg. My husband estimated the break to take a month to heal, yet it was all back to normal in two and a-half weeks.”

“That,” Aizawa said, “is magic. It speeds up the healing process. I think I can rest my case.”

“Okay. So, you’ve proven that we’re magic,” Katsuki said, “but I don’t get why fairies in particular.” He emphasized the f-word in particular, as if it was a foreign, almost dirty concept to him. “How are you so sure we’re that and not something else, like a wizard or some shit?”

“Okay, Mr. Persistent,” Aizawa said, “here’s your answer: you give off positive energy, so you can’t be a witch. You show no signs of needing an object to channel your energy like I do, so you’re not a sorcerer. Ergo, you’re both fairies. Understand?”

Katsuki flinched. “I do understand. Uh, sir.”

Ochako grabbed Izuku’s hand, gripping it tight as she flashed him a bright smile. “Isn’t this cool, Izuku?”

Izuku wasn’t sure how to take the news. He had always dreamed of being magical, special. But most little kids have those dreams, and most grow out of them. Yet this clearly magical girl telling him that he too was just like her reignited that spark. No, not reignited. It had never really died, just laid low. She had fanned the flames and made it rage.

“I, uh, that’s just…” Izuku stuttered. “Wow.”

“So you’re telling us that we’re gonna be growing wings or something?” Katsuki asked.

“No, you’re not,” Mitsuki said, “You just have the ability to transform into a fairy. The wings only come when you transform.”

“And how do you know that, okaasan?”

Mitsuki’s face was painted with fear is less than a split-second. “I mean, I’m just assuming that. ‘Cause Ochako here said she had transformed to save you, and she clearly doesn’t have wings now. The wings must come when you transform, right? And didn’t Aizawa say that they show up only during a transformation?” A nervous chuckle ended her sentence.

Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw his mom stare at Mitsuki.

“Ochako-san, Aizawa-san,” Inko said, “You said that you’d be leaving tomorrow, right? If that’s so, then why don’t you stay with us for tonight? We have the space to host you, and we’ll even prepare dinner.”

“Oh no, please,” Ochako said as she turned to face Izuku’s parents. She kept brushing back random strands of hair behind her ear. “You’ve already done enough. I don’t want to impede on you any more than needed.”

“Nonsense,” Inko said, “We insist on hosting you for the night.”

“Besides, it’s not like you both have anywhere else to stay,” Hisashi said.

“I guess you’re right,” Ochako said as she stared down at her socks.

“We accept,” Aizawa said.

“Good,” Inko said. She glanced up at the clock above the couch. “There should be enough time to prepare something for the one, two, three,” she pointed at everyone while counting. “Seven, eight of us. I think we still have enough eggs left over from breakfast.” 

“Yeah,” Hisashi chuckled, “We should.” 

“Izuku, do you think you could keep our guests entertained ‘til I’m ready?” Inko asked. “If it’s okay with you.”

“Sure, okaasan,” Izuku said, “though, I’m not sure what to do.”

“Thanks, Izuku,” Inko said as she made her way to the kitchen. “Mitsuki, mind helping me out?”

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Mitsuki said as she followed behind Inko.

Hisashi and Masaru looked at each other before following after their wives, as if they had both decided to throw in the metaphorical towel.

“Why don’t you show me more of your room? I didn’t really get to see a lot of it,” Ochako said before pausing. “I’m not really sure what to do either.”

“No, I think that’s fine,” Izuku said. He looked over at Aizawa cautiously.

“You don’t have to do anything with me, young man,” he said. “I can keep myself busy just fine.”

“Alright, Sir. Just making sure.” Izuku walked out of the living room and up the stairs. Two pairs of footsteps trailed behind him.

After entering his room, Izuku returned onto his bed and Katsuki stood by the bed. Ochako started making her way over towards Izuku before stopping at his desk. 

“Did you draw these?” she asked while picking up some of the papers on them. Swirls of blue and red danced along the paper as the sketched water turned into fire. “They’re really, really good.”

“Uh, yeah, I did,” Izuku said, “my mom is a manga artist, so she draws for a living. She’s been teaching me to draw since for as long as I can remember.”

“Lucky,” Ochako said, placing the papers back on the table. She took a seat on a chair next to it. “My parents aren’t really good at drawing, unless it’s a blueprint for their jobs, so it’s not like they could have taught me. And all my attempts to teach myself ended in disaster. I had much better luck with my magic than with a pencil.”

“Speaking of that,” Katsuki said, “what the Hell happened back there? How did I create explosions out of nothing and Izuku-chan managed to roast that ugly ogre?”

Izuku looked down at his hands. “Nothing like this has happened before. What is going on?”

Ochako brought her hand up to her chin. “If I had to guess, your emotions probably brought out your powers.”

“Yeah, but why not beforehand?” Izuku asked. “This isn’t my first time in danger. Nor was it Katsuki-chan’s. What made today so different?”

“Aizawa would probably be better at answering that than I would,” Ochako said, “But I think it’s because you had just seen magic being used in front you, so you subconsciously called for your powers to come out.” She took a pause to breathe. “I’m sorry I’m not much of a help.”

“No, no, you’re a big help!” Izuku said. “Besides, what you said makes sense.”

“That’s a relief,” Ochako said. She eyed a cup of pencils on the desk. She waved a hand over them and they floated up into the air before they merged into one large pencil. 

“Hey, since your powers showed themselves,” she said, “why don’t we test them out? Here, try turning the pencils back to their normal shape.”

Izuku looked at the large pencil in the air and held his hands up to it. He focused on what they looked like before, and pictured the large pencil breaking back into all the normal sized ones. When he opened his eyes, the large pencil was still there.

“Why didn’t it work?” he asked. “I pictured them returning to normal, but nothing happened. It wasn’t like in the forest, where I called out for protection and a dome appeared. I didn’t feel that spark in me. All that’s required is a command for it to work, right?”

Izuku looked over at Katsuki. “Don’t ask me. I’m more confused than you are.”

Ochako waved her hand and the pencil returned to its normal form, even floating back into the cup that held them. “I should have chosen an easier spell to start with. Sorry. Though, if you’re both interested in learning how to use your magic, you should come with me to UA.”

“UA?” Izuku asked, “That’s the magic school, right?”

“Yep! It’s a school dedicated to teaching fairies, and it’s the best in the business! A new year is starting up in just a couple days and I can’t wait!”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. On it was a picture of a large building surrounded by a massive forest. “I can show it if you want! They give these out in advertisements, and they’re really cool.”

Ochako let go of the paper. As it fell to the floor, it grew in size until it was more than a meter wide. “All you have to do is walk on it and it’s like you’re actually there!” She stepped onto the photo, which began rippling. Suddenly, she began sinking into the photo.

“Hurry up!” She called out.

Izuku stood up and stared at the card. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in, then walked onto the photo. He felt his body slipping into the paper, reminding him of jumping into a pool.

After he sunk into the photo, he opened his eyes and saw himself on grassy patch of ground surrounded by a forest. Right in front of him was a glass planed gate that lead into a large pink and cream colored building. He heard a noise then turned around to see that Katsuki had followed them in.

“That was weird. And cool,” He said.

“Yeah,” Izuku said as he turned back towards the building.

“That’s where I’ll be spending the next three years of my life,” Ochako said, “perhaps with you two as well.”

“Wait, how would we get in?” Izuku asked, “And what about our school here? Would we just drop out? It’s not like we can say we’re transferring to a school in another dimension.”

“I’m sure Aizawa will figure something out for the both of you,” she said, “In fact, I bet we can ask him right now!”

“How do we get out?” Katsuki asked.

“Simple,” she said, “Just jump up!” 

She jumped into the air and started disappearing. Izuku followed suit, jumping into the air before feeling himself being pulled up by an unknown force. It kept pulling him until he was back in his bedroom and standing on the photo. He took a step back and Katsuki emerged.

“So, you two are considering UA?” A voice asked. Izuku looked at his door and saw Aizawa standing in the frame.

“That’s correct, Sir,” Izuku said.

“Why’d you come up here?” Katsuki asked.

“I came up because I felt magic being used,” he answered. “As for getting you both in and taking care of any transfer problems, the rest of the UA staff will know how to handle that. But I’m taking Ochako back with me tomorrow, so if you want in, you’d better tell me then at the latest.” 

“Right, Sir,” Izuku said.

“Now, if none of you have any more questions, I’ll be heading back down now,” Aizawa said. The three of them were silent as they watched the man leave the door frame.

“He’s… something, huh?” Ochako said.

“You can say that again,” Katsuki answered.

Ochako’s eyes drifted over towards a stray book on the table. “Huh, what’s this?”

Izuku panicked as he looked at the cover. “Well, um, you see, last night I was staying up reading, and had pulled that book out. Kinda ironic considering all that’s happened today.”

“I guess so,” Ochako said as she flipped through the pages. “I probably shouldn’t be surprised, but this book has a lot wrong about fairies. They’re all so frilly and look like they’re made of glass.”

“You can say that again,” Katsuki muttered.

“Besides,” Ochako said, still flipping through the book. “They don’t even mention transformation levels.”

“Transformation levels?” Izuku asked.

“Oh, right!” Ochako said, closing the book shut. “It’s really cool! Fairies have different levels of power, and each time you gain a new power, you get a new transformation! You typically get them by showing your worth of some kind, and schools like U.A. can help you get them!”

“Incredible!” Izuku said, excitement bouncing off his voice. “I guess there’s some kind of quest or something tied to each one, or at least a trial of some kind, and then–”

“Dude,” Katsuki interrupted. “Why don’t you let the actual fairy here explain them.”

“Right,” Izuku blushed. “Tell me everything, Ochako-san!”

“Well,” Ochako began. Time slipped away as she crafted a world– a real one at that– full of magic, power, and wonder.  
•••  
Knut had just about had it with today.

His bosses made him find and pay for his own hunting troll, the three of them too upset to spare any money for extra costs. Money was the exact thing Knut was lacking at that moment, the reason he took on the job in the first place. The universe seemed to take mercy on him, though, as a hunting troll did owe him a favor. So after making a call and gathering his remaining ghouls, he arrived on Earth for the second time that day.

To say that everything else was a cake walk afterwards would have been a complete and utter lie. The sun was beginning to set, which was just a painful mockery of how long it took to coin in the favor. The troll didn’t stop to notice the sun, as he went straight to work, roaming up and down the streets. Except the city they were in was huge, possibly even bigger than the city of Magix, the largest one in the entire Magic Dimension. They traveled through streets before moving to alleyways. Too many people kept stopping him on the street. They dragged him in for photos, some asking for advice on how he managed to get his “cosplay” so lifelike. A few kids tried to pet the ghouls like they were dogs or cats. It all became too much for him. 

Another problem was all the smells in the city. Sure, they had a sample of their main scent. But cities were filled with so many people, animals, machines, and such, each one with their own scent. It was mind boggling how anything could be found in this mess.

He pushed back up his glasses, which he had pulled out to navigate the alleyways. Knut trailed behind the troll, weaving through paths and climbing over walls. They finally stepped out from the alleys, the main streets being lit up by a sea of lampposts. High up in the sky, the moon was shining. Knut sighed. It had really taken them that long, and they were nowhere closer to their goal. 

The troll walked up to the back row of red brick houses, each of them connected to the next. Some of the windows were lit up, but no one was outside. Not like there was much to do on a patch of concrete.

“What is it?” Knut asked. The troll pointed to one of the middle houses, which did have a strong odor.

“But it isn’t there!” Knut said. “All I smell is food! And none of it is smoked!”

The troll sniffed the scrap again, took a whiff of the area, then pointed right back to the same building.

“You’re really sure it’s there?” 

The troll nodded, its long hair flapping up and down with the movement.

“All right. You have the better nose of us…” Knut took off his glasses, the world turning fuzzy as he placed them into his pocket. He began to walk towards the door, before picking up the pace to a jog. He jumped over the small row of stairs, then kicked open the back door.  
•••  
A large ‘wham’ noise shook through the building. Izuku ran back into the kitchen, the source of the sound. On the table, there were still some stray dishes from dinner, which they had all finished a little bit earlier. His mom had backed herself up to the sink, looking at the doorway with fear. Izuku turned, seeing the door obliterated, and more importantly, the ogre from earlier.

“How did–” he asked. He shook his head. How it found him wasn’t important right now. He rushed over towards the sink, grabbed his mom’s hand, then bolted out of the kitchen and into the living room.

“Um,” he said, “We got a bit of a situation in the kitchen.” 

“What kind?” Katuski asked.

Izuku opened his mouth to answer, but a large crashing sound spoke for him.

“That kind,” he said.

“Oh great,” Katsuki said, “you again. Didn’t you run off? Why the Hell are you back, a-hole?”

“I’m not done yet!” the ogre said. “I’m back for round two! And this time my bosses want the fire boy!”

“The fire boy?” Inko asked.

“I think it’s referring to me, okaasan…”

“Well then,” she turned and stared down the ogre in the eyes. “It will be a cold day in Hell before I let anyone take my son away from me. Got it?”

“You think I’m gonna let a little Earthling stop me? Besides, I brought backup!”

Something walked through the wall, destroying a bookshelf and sending trinkets flying into the ground. A large blue figure stood in the hole. Long, black hair rolled down from his head, two strands ending near its chest, which had two piercings on the nipples. A groin cloth covered up the bottom area.

Ochako ran into the room and flinched at the sight of the ogre and its backup. “Ah crap! And he even brought a troll with him!”

“You!” The ogre pointed at Ochako. “How ‘bout you come back with me this time?”

“Hm, let me think,” she said, “I think I’m fine passing up your deal again.”

She closed her eyes, and a blanket of light enveloped her. In less than a second, there were once again wings on her back. 

The ogre let out a grunt of frustration as he threw a punch in Inko’s direction. Izuku raised his hand up to try to block it like he had done in the park, but nothing was happening. Nothing showed up to protect them.

‘Come on,’ Izuku thought, ‘I need you to work right now.’

“Zero-G Burst!” A pink blast of energy hit the ogre’s fist, stopping the blow and he flinched back from the pain. The ogre cried out, and Izuku could see the burn from earlier was still there.

“Thank you, dear,” Inko said.

“Don’t mention it,” Ochako said.

Footsteps filled the doorway as Hisashi, Mitsuki, and Masaru entered.

“We heard noises and– Holy crap there’s an actual troll and and actual ogre in my living room,” Hisashi said, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

“Yes,” Inko said, “and rather rude ones at that. Didn’t anyone teach either of you it’s rude to enter without permission, and that it’s especially rude to break people’s walls?!”

“Well–”

“I bet not! Otherwise you wouldn’t have done so!”

The ogre shook his head. “I don’t have time for this! Ghouls! Troll! Get the fairy and the boy!”

The troll started running towards them. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku watched as Katsuki grabbed a stray vase, ran up to the troll, and hit it in the head. Colored shards of glass flew through the air as the troll lost its footing.

“Oi,” Katsuki said, “If you think it’s gonna be easy to even touch one of us, you’re more pathetic than I thought.”

He looked down at his hands, which had begun to spark up. He slapped the troll as it stood up, sending back on the ground with some light burns on its face.

“Huh,” he said, “that was handy.”

“Kids!” Mitsuki called out, “Lure the troll and the ghouls outside. We’ll deal with this dimwit over here!”

“Hey!” The ogre cried.

“But, ma’am,” Ochako began, “will you be okay?”

“I promise! Now just go!”

Katsuki and Ochako turned back towards the troll. Ochako picked up a stray piece of glass and threw it at the troll. It bounced off its skin, but ticked it off plenty, growling while his eyes hatefully stared at her.

“Hey,” she said, “come and get me!” She took a couple steps back before running towards the front door. Katsuki followed suit, then Izuku. He turned around and saw the troll and the pack of ghouls following them. Yet in the background, he saw something odd. It looked like energy similar to the dome from earlier. Izuku wasn't quite sure who it was coming from. Logically it should have been Aizawa. After all, he was the only other person able to use magic. Yet he wasn’t with the rest of adults when Izuku last checked, and his magic was tinted purple, not amber like the dome. And magic from him shouldn’t have set off a gasp from Inko. Yet Izuku didn’t have the time to investigate just what was going on. Shaking off his questions, he ran out the back door. As he caught up with the others, he heard the troll widen the hole where the door once stood.. The ghouls ran out the hole, surrounding the trio.

“Okay,” Izuku began, “now we just gotta take out all these little guys, that troll, and then the ogre. Piece of cake, I think.”

The troll ran forward, lifting his arms for a hammer strike. Izuku raised his arm out to protect them, but nothing came out.

‘Come on, come on! Please, you can’t fail me now!’ he thought.

He kept trying to put up some sort of barrier, yet nothing came out. Ochako rushed in at the last second, encasing them in a pink dome.

“Hold on, I got an idea,” she said. “Just stay put.”

The troll raised its arms again for another strike. Ochako let down the dome, catching the blow as it hit. She dug into the ground under the pressure, a small hole forming in the concrete.

“Gra–Gravi Pulse!” The energy in her hands went straight for the troll, sending it flying back. It landed head first on the ground, creating another hole in the concrete. As it stood back up, it kept swaying side to side. 

“Incredible!” Izuku said. “It appears to have lost its center of gravity! But the ghouls from earlier today didn't even though they were hit with the same attack!”

“Yeah,” Ochako chuckled, “I can adjust people’s gravity, including their centers. Currently, I can’t do it on multiple people at once, and I have to touch the person to affect them.”

“Still, that’s amazing!”

“Oh! Thanks, Izuku.”

“Hate to break up the tender moment,” Katsuki said, “but it’s coming back and is even more pissed than before.”

Izuku turned toward the troll, who was lunging at them and preparing a punch. Yet it veered off to the right, missing Ochako by a good meter and landing on a cluster of ghouls.

“On second thought,” Katsuki said, “it ain’t a problem.”

The troll stood back up, charged, and missed. It crashed into the trash, knocking its head back into the ground. It laid there, not moving a muscle.

“I think it knocked itself out,” Izuku said.

“That’s lucky for us,” Ochako replied.

They didn’t have too much luck, as right then and there the ogre ran outside. It looked over and saw its comrade on the ground.

“Aw man,” it said, “he’s gonna be really mad at me when he wakes up.”

It turned to face the three of them before charging right towards them. As Izuku watched, he felt a pair of hands move his own.

“All you have to do,” Ochako said, “is focus real hard, and then let it out, okay? Now on the count of three. One, two, three!”

Izuku pictured himself firing a small burst of energy, just like Ochako had done earlier. As he closed his eyes, he felt something warm up in his hands, then fly forward. He opened them up and saw a burst of orange energy hit the ogre along with a pink burst of energy from Ochako. Their double blast sent it flying back.

“And that’s how to take down an ogre.” 

“Wow,” Izuku said, “I finally managed to do it that time.”

“See? Knew you could.”

The ogre stood up and spit out a loose tooth. Yet he heard something coming his way from back in the house, and his angered expression was quickly replaced by one of fear.

“Aw, man,” it said, “my bosses aren’t gonna be happy about this at all.” It clapped its hands together, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The source of the noise came outside as Aizawa reached out and grapsed smoke. “Ah, dammit.”

“The troll is still here, Aizawa, Sir!” Ochako said, pointing him out.

“Huh,” He shot his arm at the troll, wrapping his hands together in purple bands of energy. The energy bands morphed into a pair of cuffs that encased both hands.

“Guess it left its buddy behind in the rush to get out,” Aizawa said, “At least I can turn this one in.”

He turned towards the three of them. “You kids go back inside before anyone sees you. I’ll just drop this guy off with the Magix police and I’ll be back to help with the cleanup.”

“Yes, Sir!” Ochako said. She breathed out as she detransformed, the wings disappearing. “I should go help out your parents. I’m kinda responsible for all the mess here.”

“No, you’re not!” Izuku said. “Not at all!”

“You two coming in?” Katsuki asked, already back inside.

“Oh, right! Coming!”

•••  
The clock rang ten at night when all the clean up was finished. Besides the walls and a few handful of important family treasures, Inko had insisted that the cleanup remained magic-free. Trash bags full of unsalvageable books and broken ceramics were outside. 

Hisashi sighed as he sat down next to Inko on the couch. “Well, at least we can’t call tonight ‘boring’ at all, now can we?”

“Not at all,” Masaru sighed, sitting on a chair. Mitsuki walked in from the kitchen and leaned on the arm rest.

“I’m really sorry, Ms Midoriya,” Ochako said, “If you hadn’t offered to host me for the night, then your home–”

“Honey, what happened wasn’t your fault at all,” Inko said, “so don’t blame yourself.”

“Are you sure, ma’am? Absolutely sure?”

“Yes, I am. Now stop worrying about it. You’re sounding like my son.”

Izuku blushed red as he rubbed the back of his head. “I guess I do over-apologize, don’t I?”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Katsuki said.

Izuku let out a nervous chuckle. “Though, um, okaasan? Otousan?” he began. “There is something I need to tell you. Right now.”

“What is it, Izuku?” Inko asked.

He took a deep breath in, pushing his jitters deep down. “I’mgoingtoUA.”

“Slow down, kid,” Hisashi said, “What was it?”

“I,” Izuku said, “I’m going to UA. With Ochako-san.”

His parents gasped.

“Even though I have powers, I still don’t know how they work at all. I don’t know how to call upon them when I really need them, like tonight. I want to be able to help people, to keep them safe from danger, but I can’t do that if these powers don’t answer to me.

“That’s why I need to go to UA. I need to go somewhere that knows how magic works, that can teach me how to understand what it is and how to use it. I need to know how to be, well, a fairy.”

Inko stood up, her eyes tearing up as she made her way over to her son. She wrapped her arms around him.

“Izuku,” she said, “I’m proud of you.”

“You– you are?” he asked, surprised.

“I am. I truly am. You have such a big heart, one that’s always been looking out for others. I’ve never seen you turn your back on anybody, even when the odds were tremendously stacked against you. And now, you’re doing it again. You’re putting yourself out there into the unknown, in order to help others. I don’t know what else a parent would want from her child.”

“I, um,” Izuku stuttered, “thank you. For understanding.”

“Of course.”

Izuku closed his eyes as he returned the hug. For a moment, the world was just the two of them. Inko did her best to hold back the tears, but they fell down her face and stained his shirt. Hisashi snuck in from behind, trapping Izuku in the middle of a double hug.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you too, kid. Well, also scared, very scared, but more proud than scared.”

“Thanks, otousan.”

Inko let go of her son, grabbing her husband’s hand as they made their way back to their seats. Izuku felt a hand grab his, and noticed that Katsuki had locked them together.

“Can’t stay out of trouble, now can you?” He said. “I guess I better follow there. You know, to make sure you stay as safe as possible.”

Sparks of joy lit up as Izuku let go of the hand grip and wrapped Katsuki in a hug.

“Hey, no need to go so crazy, nerd,” Katsuki said.

“Says the guy returning my hug.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Though, think you can handle being called a fairy?” Izuku asked. “Come on, I’ve seen you grimace at the term being used on you today.”

“Fine, fine, you caught me there,” he answered, “Though, be pretty lame of me to back out just cause I can’t handle a certain name.”

Ochako squealed as she wrapped both boys up in a hug. “I can’t believe it! You’re both coming with me! This is gonna be great! You’re gonna love it, I promise!”

“Very well, then,” Aizawa said. The man was leaning next to the couch and on the wall. “I’ll call up the headmaster about this. We’ll work out the details, and what to do in regards to your current school here on Earth.”

“Thank you, Aizawa-san,” Izuku said.

The man only grunted in response. He walked out of the room, to start the calls if Izuku had to guess, as he stuck his hands in his pockets 

Izuku looked back at his mom, who was now looking strangely at Mitsuki. It was as if the former knew the latter was hiding something, but wasn’t sure what the thing was. 

“Well then,” Inko said, turning back to her son, “I guess you should pack up then?”

“Yeah,” Izuku said, “I, uh, probably should go do that.”

“I can help you out!” Ochako said, “You know, since Mr. Aizawa just kinda up and left.”

“Oh! Yeah, thanks!”

“No problem!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku could see Katsuki shrug and make his way to the back door, probably to pack himself up too.

Izuku turned back towards Ochako and listened in as she started reciting the school approved packing list.

•••

“Thank you for putting the tea on earlier,” Inko said as she poured a cup.

“It wasn’t that hard to do,” Mitsuki said, taking the cup. She sat down in her chair in the kitchen.

The whole house was finally quiet. It was fairly late into the evening, and all the kids and guests had gone to sleep. Only Inko, Mitsuki, and their husbands were still up.

“It’s nice to have a moment of peace. Especially after today’s crazy events,” Inko said.

“You can say that again,” Masaru said.

“It’s still crazy to believe our children are going off to learn about magic,” Hisashi said, placing his cup on top of the table. “It seems like something right out of a novel or a movie.”

‘Thank you for that segue, dear,’ Inko thought.

“Though, I suppose it’s a good thing they’re going off to an official school to learn all about that.” Inko paused to take a sip of her own tea. “After all, a whole crew of trained professionals would be much better teachers than just the two of you. Right, Mitsuki? Masaru?”

Mitsuki’s cup nearly slipped out of her hand as she bit her lip. Her husband’s eyes widen.

“Um, Inko,” he said, “what makes you say that?”

“Well,” she said, “you might know how to make a barrier or two, but surely our sons will need people who know a lot more than that, right?”

“I,” Mitsuki began, “I don’t know what your talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Inko said, placing her cup down in front of her. “I saw you earlier, during that surprise attack. You made something, a barrier, to protect me. It looked like you tried to do it in secret, but I saw you wave your hand out and the barrier form right after that wave. Why do you think I gasped then and there?”

Mitsuki looked down at her tea, silent. Masaru was silent as well, the man fiddling with his sleeves nervously.

“Mitsuki, Masaru,” Inko continued, her voice laced with concern. “Everything that’s happened so far has just left me with too many questions about you. Not just that barrier, but about your son, and especially about Izuku. When Hisashi and I first saw you, you were carrying Izuku, holding onto him like your lives depended on him. It’s almost a miracle you let us take him in.”

“He took such a shine to you, we couldn’t keep him away from you.”

“And my husband and I thank you for that, Masaru. But it’s because you were the ones who had Izuku that makes me believe you know just what’s going on with him and why he suddenly has magic.

“Earlier today, my husband claimed you were hiding secrets from us. I shrugged him off then, but now? Now I can’t help but think he was onto something. I can’t help but wonder if you have been hiding something from us. Not just us, but from everybody. Even your own son. So please. If you have been hiding something, if Hisashi’s crazy theory is right, then I ask for no more lies. Tell us the truth. We promise what happens here will stay right here.”

Mitsuki looked up at Masaru, who only nodded at her.

“We have to,” he said.

Mitsuki turned back towards Inko and Hisashi before sighing. “You… you’re really good, you know that?”

“Thank you.”

“You’re right,” she continued, “We’ve been keeping secrets for years. We’ve been doing so to blend in with the people here.”

“Blend in?” Hisashi asked, “Wait, what all is going on right now? Inko, dear, why are you interrogating them?”

“It’s not an interrogation, Hisashi. Now let them speak.”

Mitsuki sighed. “The truth is, we didn’t move here from Italy. We fled here, to Earth, from the Magic Dimension.”

“Hold up,” Inko said, “Isn’t that the same place Ochako-san and Aizawa-san said they were from? Where UA is located and where magic is common?”

“That’s right,” Masaru said.

“Uh,” Hisashi said, “I guess that would explain why you’re both so adamant about not traveling outside Japan. You know, cause governments check your legal documents when visiting other countries and you likely have forged ones, and it be really hard to explain that your only legal documents come from a world of magic and–” he paused, as if losing his train of thought. “You know, I’m just gonna stop talking right now.”

“Well,” Inko clicked her tongue. “That explains your magic. Though, Katsuki-chan. And Izuku. Are they–”

“Yes, they’re also from there,” Mitsuki said, “from a planet called Domino, to be exact.

“Fifteen years ago, our home came under attack by the greatest evils of the Magic Dimension. Masaru and I were Royal Guards there, assigned to protect the princess of that planet. We also had different names back then. I was Alelina, and my husband Galetrio. They are our birth names. What you know us by now are the names we chose to better blend in to Japan.”

“Can we still call you by them? The names you picked up here,” Hisashi asked.

“Of course,” Mitsuki said, “Getting back to the story. We were assigned to keep the princess safe from the attack, as well as the young prince, who was only a month old at the time. We were all together, including my child Katsuki, who I had wrapped tightly on my back. We stood together for as long as we could, but our princess sent us off. She told us that we needed to go somewhere far away so we could keep her brother safe. So she sent us here,” She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “We don't know what happened to her. It’s likely she died along with everyone else.”

Silence hung over the room, weighing down on everyone like a pile of bricks. Tears were running down Mitsuki’s face. Masaru’s eyes were sparkling with them. Hisashi had dropped his cup of tea, stray puddles of the green liquid scattered across the table. Inko held her hand up to her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“There’s no need to be,” Mitsuki said, wiping away a few tears. “It–it’s all in the past now.”

“Though, that prince,” Inko said, “if you left Domino with two babies, and arrived here with the same amount– are you saying that?”

Mitsuki nodded. “Your son is that prince. One of the small, small number of Domino survivors, and the heir to the throne.”

Inko gasped again. Hisashi, who had gone in for a sip of tea, dropped his cup again. Only this time it hit the floor, breaking into pieces as the liquid landed everywhere.

“I– I–”

“Do you want me to stop?” Mitsuki asked, “I can stop if it’s too much for you.”

“No. No. It’s all good,” Inko said, “I need you to keep going. I need you to tell me anything else that’s important.”

Mitsuki tapped her fingers on the table. “There is one other important thing.”

“What?”

“It’s the magic your son has. You see, shortly before we left, the princess gave him the Dragon Flame.”

“Dragon Flame?”

“It’s said to be the power used by the Great Dragon when He formed the universe. It's powerful magic, typically fire but able to take on any element the user chooses. one trusted to be protected by the Royal Domino family. Our Queen had it before passing it on to her daughter. She must have passed it onto Izuku knowing that it would be safest in him.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Hisashi said, “Is this Dragon’s Flame the reason you were attacked? Were those people after that power?”

Masaru nodded. “Many people have tried to steal the Flame for years and years. Though, none of them had ever caused so much destruction as that day. Nor have any of them been the greatest evils known to the Magic Dimension.”

“The Dragon Flame is very powerful,” Mitsuki said, “it’s possible in the wrong hands it could be able to destroy the world.” She stopped, noticing Inko’s eyes widen with fear. “But your son has such a good heart, I don’t think we’d have to worry about that.” She paused, taking a sip of her tea.

“Honestly, I’m quite glad he decided to go to UA of his own will. It’s what’s best for him. They’ll teach him how to understand how his magic works. And I’m proof myself of how good the curriculum is.”

“And I’m assuming your son is magical too?” Inko asked.

“Judging by Ochako’s report from earlier, he is,” Mitsuki said, “Besides, I’ve known for years. I’ve felt his magical energy for a long time now.”

“Not to mention they’ve always had the marks,” Masaru said, “I should know, since I was the one checking them up.”

“And I’m assuming that you just skipped out on telling us about those little lines that meant wings were growing in him?” Inko asked.

“It… it was what was best at that moment,” he said, face turning red as he looked anywhere but at the Midoriyas. 

“We were always going to tell them about their magic,” Mitsuki said, “I was just waiting for the right time to tell them both.”

“When would that have been?”

“Let’s see, Izuku’s birthday is in a few weeks, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then in a few weeks.”

“So when they’d both be sixteen you'd tell them.”

“You’d be right.”

Inko looked down at her reflection in the tea cup. “You know, I’d always thought our son was extra special. I had just chalked that up to mother’s admiration. I’d never thought it be because of, well, all this.”

Mitsuki grabbed Inko’s hand. “Your son was already special, even without magic. Consider this, like, a bonus.”

Inko looked up and flashed Mitsuki a smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Mitsuki stood up, letting go of Inko’s hand. “I suppose we should turn in now. You know, since our sons are leaving tomorrow.”

“Right,” Inko said. “Thank you, for telling us everything.”

“No problem. Just don’t tell Izuku about any of this, okay? He just learned that he has magic. All this information about his past and his powers, I fear this might be too much for him right now.”

“When will you tell him?” Hisashi asked. “Seems like something pretty important for him to know about.”

“Knowing your son? We’ll probably tell him when he comes knocking on our door to confirm all the puzzle pieces he’s put together. Night, Inko. Hisashi.”

Inko watched as Mitsuki and Masaru left the apartment building. She then turned to Hisashi, whom she wrapped up in a hug.

“It’s funny,” she said, “I somehow feel both better and worse knowing the truth.”

“Truth’s funny like that,” he said as she stroked her hair. 

“I’m scared– no, terrified, Hisashi,” she said. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes, along with the strange, sweet taste in her mouth that came whenever she cried. “You heard what they said. People were after him because of his magic. And that people have been after it for years,” she paused, taking a deep breath, “What if what we saw today wasn’t the worst? What if we just saw the beginning, and worse and worse people will come after him for something he didn’t even choose to have?” 

“You’re not alone in your fear, Inko,” he said, “But it’s all gonna work out in the end.”

“How do you know?”

“Eh, call it a gut feeling. Maybe deep down I know that our son will be strong enough to take down whatever comes his way. Or maybe I’m just clinging on to crazy hope. Yet something does tell me everything will be okay.”

Inko chuckled at him as she let go of the hug. “Thanks.”

“Of course, dear.”

She wiped away the tears in her eyes. As she did, her gaze turned towards the floor and towards the broken cup.

“The broom’s in the kitchen closet,” she said, “as well as the dust pan. Paper towels are on the kitchen counter.”

“Wait, why am I the one cleaning it up?”

“Simple. You’re the one who broke it.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” he said.

Inko stood up on her tip toes as she placed a peck on his check. “Meet me in my work room once you’re done. I wanna surprise Izuku with something and I need your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See. Told y'all it be a long one.
> 
> If you are familiar with Winx canon, you may have noticed some changes from the original cartoon in place. The biggest one being there is more than one Domino survivor here. This is all well-intended. I do love the show, but it be rather boring to follow the canon religiously without any changes. So, naturally, things are going to be changed.
> 
> On that note, there is no one script/dub I'm following in particular. While I am leaning more towards the RAI English and Nick dubs in terms of naming (Mainly Domino instead of Sparks and Dragon Flame instead of Dragon Fire), there will be elements from all three major dubs (4Kids, RAI English, and Nick) sprinkled throughout. Once again, this is to keep things from being too much like canon. In addition, a LOT, if not all, of the episodes had plots based more on character/personality than anything else. With a new cast of characters, the script does have to change in order to accommodate the new circumstances. 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you keep following along and leave a kudos and/or comment if you enjoyed!


	3. Experience a New Dimension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day comes to finally go to UA — with a healthy side of culture shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM ALIVE  
> I was hopping to get this out sooner, but my laptop had to get taken into the shop. They still have it, but I found out you can update AO3 from mobile, thank the Dragon. Also, thank Google Docs for existing. Would have been stuck in limbo otherwise.
> 
> There’s not much in terms of thanks and such, but I do wanna give a small shoutout to Tumblr user “Drops of Moonlight” for allowing me to use one of his designs in my fanfic! It’s nothing much, just a phone. But if you have a moment, make sure to check out his blog! He’s made so much amazing art for his AU and I’m constantly blown away by it. So go give him some love!
> 
> (Phone design in question: https://drops-of-moonlights.tumblr.com/post/190244298400/phone-concept-for-the-au-nothing-really-like )
> 
> With all that said, please enjoy!

The sound of the zipper rang through the room as Izuku closed his suitcase. He’d finished packing the basics last night before Ochako checked herself out. Now he had just tucked in a few extra things. 

He took a look around his room. He let everything sink in, from the posters on the walls to the gaps in the bookshelf. He picked up his backpack– which was also packed up for UA– and walked out of his room.

As he dragged his suitcase down the stairs, he saw Ochako waiting for him, along with his parents. When he made it all the way down, his mom was the first to approach him.

“Izuku,” she began, “I’m proud of you. And nervous for you, but mostly proud.”

“Thanks, okaasan,” he said.

“And your father and I wanted to show you that,” she said. Inko turned around, gesturing for Hisashi to come up. In his hands was a white box.

“So,” Inko continued, “we prepared a little going away gift. Though, I guess it could also be an early birthday gift, since we won’t be with you this year when it comes.”

Izuku had started reaching for the box but paused at the mention of his birthday. With all the excitement and commotion in the air, he hadn’t even considered that he’d be away from his parents come his birthday, that for the first time he’d be spending it without them.

It never really occurred to him how fast things were changing. He hadn’t thought about how he was leaving his parents. Sure, they would still support him even if he was in another dimension, but it felt different. There was a noticeable difference between love and support from people you could run up and hold, and love and support from people supporting you on the sidelines. 

“Is something wrong, kid?” Hisashi asked. “You’ve been holding your hands over the box for awhile.”

“Oh!” Izuku said. “I’m fine, I promise.” He started reaching towards the box again. “Just thinking about things. I wasn’t spacing out”

He lifted up the lid of the box. Inside were a blanket and a journal with a pen attached to it. Izuku rubbed his hands over them, the cold leather of the journal conflicting the soft fuzziness of the blanket.

“Open the journal,” Inko said.

Izuku reached inside for journal. He handed the box back to his dad as he opened it up. On the inside was a small folder with something sticking out of it. He pulled open the folder to find a few photos of them through the years.

“We wanted to give you something to look at when times get rough,” Inko said, “so there’s a journal to write out your feelings in and photos of us to look at.”

“The blanket is mainly to keep you warm,” Hisashi said. “Besides, you can never have enough blankets.”

Izuku bit his lip as he looked through all the photos. Somehow his parents knew just which ones to choose, the ones holding snapshots from some of his best memories with them. He tucked them back into the journal folder before closing the journal and bringing it to his chest.

“I,” Izuku began, “I don’t– I can’t…” He ran forward, wrapping both of his parents up in his arms. The box fell to the floor with a thud.

“Thank you,” Izuku finished, “For everything.”

“Of course, honey,” Inko said.

“We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t love you,” Hisashi said.

Izuku pulled back from the hug and leaned down to pick up the box. He placed the journal back in it before closing it up. “I’ll definitely use them.”

“I’m glad,” Inko said.

“It’s always heartwarming to see you so close together,” Mitsuki said, walking into the living room. Masaru and Katsuki followed behind her, a suitcase in the latter’s hand.

“Oh!” Inko said. “I guess I didn’t hear you all come in!”

“I guess,” Mitsuki said.

Izuku’s eyes drifted over towards the living room table. On it was a familiar black case, one that was always brought out during family vacations.

“Otousan?” Izuku asked. “Why is the camera out?”

“Because,” Hisashi said, “we’re coming with you. If only to drop you off. Did you really think I’d miss a great photo op like this?”

“Huh?” Izuku said, “You’re coming? I thought that you wouldn’t be able to.”

“What’s all this noise about extra passengers?” Aizawa walked into the living room, his hair pulled back.

“Well,” Izuku said, “my parents said that they were coming with us, and I had just assumed that they wouldn’t be able to.”

“No, they can,” Aizawa said, “though, only to send you off. I can’t watch over them to make sure they get back home, and it would be suspicious if they disappeared without any rhyme or reason.”

“I guess that’s reasonable,” Hisashi said. “It’s too bad, though. I really wanted to see this Magic Dimension and all that it has to offer.”

“Hey,” Masaru said, “Chin up. Maybe there will be visitation days?”

“Anyways,” Aizawa sighed, “Is everyone ready?”

Izuku gripped the box under his arm. “Ready.”

“Ready,” Ochako said, pumping her fist in the air.

“Ready,” Katsuki said, giving a firm nod that was accompanied by a confident grin.

“Very well then,” Aizawa said. He held up his hand, palm facing the back wall. Rings of purple energy started appearing before they merged together into one giant blob.

“Come on!” Ochako ran up to Izuku, grabbing his free hand with hers. “UA is this way!”

She pulled him through the portal, everything becoming brighter as he entered it. Suddenly, the whole scenery around him began to melt. The melted lump gathered together before spreading back out again. This time it formed a picture not of his living room, but of a ledge overlooking a large building surrounded by a forest.

Izuku stepped on the ground once the colors had solidified. “So I’m guessing that’s what dimensional travel is like?”

“At least spell wise,” Ochako replied. “Devices aren’t as pretty. It’s just this zap of light and bam! You’re there.”

“Huh.”

Katsuki stepped out next, though he was gripping his head in pain. “That… that did not feel good.”

“Weird,” Ochako said, “Never pinned you as someone who would get dimensional travel sickness.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Before Katsuki could question Ochako any more, Izuku’s parents stepped through the portal, followed by Katsuki’s. The former were looking out at the view with childlike joy on their faces, while the former seemed to look over the place with what looked like a sense of nostalgia. Perhaps U.A. looked like their old home?

Aizawa was the last to come out, the portal closing behind him. “Alright,” he looked over at the parents, “this is as far as I’ll take you. Please say your final goodbyes now.”

Inko walked over towards Izuku, grabbing both of his hands and placing them in hers. “Izuku. I’m really gonna miss you.”

“I’m really gonna miss you too, okaasan.”

“I want to wrap you in my arms and take you back home, to keep you safe from any more danger that might come your way here. But deep down I know that would only hurt you and that you need to take this step into the future.” She paused, letting go of Izuku’s hands to wipe away a tear. “If there’s anything I want you to know before you go, it’s that I’m so thankful you entered my life, and that Hisashi and I will always be there for you.”

She looked over at her husband, as if to nudge him to speak.

“Um,” he began, “Well, Inko’s always been better at words than I have. Especially right on the spot.” His hand found its way towards the back of his head as he scratched it. “But I just want you to know everything she said is true. Izuku, you’re the best gift we’ve ever gotten, and likely ever will. And even though I’m scared out of my pants about you possibly facing more danger like last night or worse, I’m much more happy for you that you want to do this. I just know that you’re gonna knock them all dead.”

“Thanks, otousan,” Izuku said, “And for someone who’s bad at speaking on the spot, that was really sweet.”

“Oh!” Hisashi blushed. “Well, good to know I’m not a complete idiot at that.”

“Promise me you’ll call us at least once a week,” Inko said, “So we know you’re doing okay. And call us tonight too, okay? So we know you’ve settled in just fine.”

“I will, okaasan.”

“Good,” Inko said, before turning towards Ochako. “I just want to thank you for helping out my son, and I want you to know that if you ever find yourself stranded on Earth again, you can always stop by our house. My husband and I will be more than happy to take care of you until you find a way back home.”

“Eh?” Ochako said, pointing at herself. “Well, um, I don’t really know what to say. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Of course,” Inko said.

Hisashi opened up the bag he had been carrying, pulling out the camera. “Now, if you two boys could do me one last favor before we send you off?”

Izuku sighed as he and Katsuki stood in front of the school, moving around as Hisashi kept giving them directions. After what felt like hours of being told to move just a little bit one way or the other, they were flashed a thumbs up from behind the camera.

“I’m assuming you’re all done here?” Aizawa asked.

“Yep!” Hisashi said.

“Wait a minute,” Masaru said, “I feel like I’m forgetting something… it’s right in front of me, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Tuition?” Mitsuki guessed. 

“Tuition!” Hisashi said, “How could we forget something as big as that?!”

“To be fair,” Inko said, “the last several hours have been very… hectic. But still,” she looked out towards the campus in the distance. “A place like that must cost a fortune! I’m afraid to ask what the price tag is like.”

“Right now, nothing,” Aizawa said, “The headmaster wants to see how your sons fit in. If they choose to stay, then he’ll send me back with more money on a price tag. But if they go home, it costs nothing.”

“That’s crazy!” Hisashi said.

“You could say that about the man himself,” Aizawa grumbled.

“What was that?” Mitsuki asked.

“Nothing. And even if it was something, it isn’t important.” Aizawa opened up the portal again, gesturing for the adults to walk into it. “You’ll be taken back right to your home.”

They waved goodbye as they left. As Izuku watched, he noticed his vision become slightly blurry. He rubbed an eye, noticing the small tears on them. Sure, he knew leaving them was going to hurt a little, but watching them leave stung once it had come to life. Everything really was changing.

The portal closed up and Aizawa started walking towards U.A. “What are you three waiting for?” he asked. “Hurry up.”

“Right!” Izuku gripped his suitcase and followed the man.

The air was filled with silence as the four made their way through the woods. The lush evergreens reached high into the sky, swaying in the summer breeze.

Finally, someone spoke.

“Hey, Izuku,” Ochako said, “it’s really cool how you also got a going away present from your parents.”

“Also?” Izuku asked, 

“Yeah!” Ochako said, “My parents gave me this pin, see?” She pointed to the pin on her shirt. It showed a blue circle connected to a blue ring by several spokes. “It’s modeled after the Ring of Solaria, which is used by the Princess.” She turned towards Aizawa. “Doesn’t she also go to U.A.?”

“Used to,” he answered, “after her incident last year, her father pulled her out. Even went as far as making it a royal order for her to come home. Something about ‘not showing enough responsibility’.”

“What did she do?” Izuku asked.

“She blew up the lab,” Aizawa groaned. 

“Can’t be that bad,” Katsuki said.

“She blew up the lab. That included the walls that make up the lab.”

“Geez, just what kind of shit was she doing in there?”

“I’ve done my best to suppress the memory,” Aizawa sighed, “All I remember was that it was destructive, messy, and pink.”

“Huh,” Ochako said, “Anyways, they gave me this pin, and said they even embedded it with magic as a little good luck charm.”

“That would answer a question I’ve been having about you,” Aizawa said.

“What question?” 

“I think I’ll let these two explain it.”

Before Izuku could ask any questions, he heard a sea of noises from a crowd. He looked up, noting gates that were exactly like the ones shown in the postcard from last night.

“Wow…” Though something felt off. As he focused in on the people around him, he noticed that all of them were speaking gibberish. Hundreds of nonsense words flooded into Izuku as he failed to piece them all together.

“Hey,” Katsuki said, “what’s going on with all the people here? They’re all talking nonsense.”

“What are you two talking about?” Ochako asked, “I can understand everyone just fine. Izuku?”

“It’s all Greek to me.”

“Huh?”

“Earth phrase. Means I can’t understand anything anyone is saying either.”

“And there’s my question,” Aizawa said, “how you were able to understand them and how they were able to understand you.”

“I don’t understand,” Izuku said.

“Her pin must have been embedded with a translation spell, which allowed her to communicate with both you and your parents. It also allowed you to understand her.”

“Well that’s all good,” Katsuki said, “but it doesn’t quite exactly help us out now when we can’t understand jackshit.”

Aizawa sighed. “Just give me a minute.” He walked up to Izuku and reached out his hands towards the boy’s neck. Izuku quickly stepped back, unsure of what the man was trying to do. 

“Listen, kid. I need to touch your throat for this to work. May I?”

Izuku looked Aizawa in the eyes. “I guess so, sir.”

“This won’t take long,” Aizawa proceeded to place his fingers on Izuku’s throat. Izuku felt something warm erupt in his throat, and it spread throughout him. It buzzed in his head before stopping with a small ‘pop’ from his ears.

As Aizawa did the same to Katsuki, Izuku listened back in on the crowds. He could not only hear them, but understand them as well. He heard people asking how their summers went to others wondering what the teachers would be like. 

“How…” he wondered, placing his own hand on his throat.

“Temporary translation spell,” Aizawa said. “It will wear off tomorrow. We’ll need to find you both a more permanent solution so I don’t have to do this everyday.”

“Alright…” Izuku said, still slightly confused by the mysteries of the new world around him.

“Come on!” Ochako said. 

“Coming!” Izuku grabbed his bag and ran after the girl, and he could hear Katsuki trailing behind him. The courtyard was filled with clusters of students and various lines. Ochako settled in at the back of one, Izuku right behind her.

He didn’t want to bother Ochako any more than needed, so Izuku began to look around as the line moved forward. There was a wide variety of students of various shapes and sizes. Though, the closer he looked, the more he began to notice things. Some of the students had tails and hooves, while others had abnormally colored skin. 

Reaching out in front of him, he tapped Ochako on the shoulder. “Um, Ochako-san?”

She turned around. “What’s up?”

“Well, um,” he nervously began, “I was just curious about something…”

“I guess a lot of this is new to you, huh?”

“You could say that again.”

“So what are you curious about?”

“I’m not really sure how to say this,” he felt his hand reach to the back of his neck as he began scratching it. “But, well, the other students…”

She took a quick look around at the other students before moving forward in the line. “You mean how everyone isn’t human?”

“Yes,” Izuku’s face flared bright red. “That.”

“Guess I forgot to mention that part,” she rubbed her suitcase handle in embarrassment. “But yeah. There are a lot of different species here! All of them can use magic to a certain extent, but not all of them can be fairies, witches, or sorcerers.”

“Then which ones can?”

“Outside of humans, there’s—”

Ochako stopped as the person in front of her placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re next.”

Now it was Ochako’s turn to flush in embarrassment. “Oh! Right! Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it.” The stranger grabbed their suitcase handle and walked away. 

At the end of the line was a woman with long, navy hair that ran past her hips. Her face was framed with red glasses, and she wore a white button up shirt, a waisted navy skirt, tights, and red pumps. “Hello there, dear,” she said, looking Ochako I’m the eyes. “And who might you be?”

Ochako tucked a hair strand behind her ear. “Ochako of Solaria, ma’am,” she said, “Do you need my surname? I can give it to you if you want.”

“No need, sweetie,” the teacher said, pointing to her sheet. “See? Here you are, Ochako Uraraka of Solaria. I found you just fine.”

Ochako sighed as a huge smile appeared on her face. “What a relief!” She moved out of the way, leaving Izuku facing what would most likely be one of his teachers.

“Not so fast,” Aizawa said, tapping both boys on their shoulders. “Due to your, how do I put this, unique circumstances, the headmaster wanted to check you in.”

“Oh, Shota,” the woman said, “Are these the little mystery boys you told the headmaster about?”

“Kayama,” Aizawa sighed, “first, don’t my life anymore difficult than it already is. Second, how do you know that? That call was strictly between me and the headmaster.”

“I have my ways,” she said, adding on a little wink at the end. “And it’s no fun to share my secrets!”

“Something tells me that her class won’t be boring,” Katsuki said under his breath.

“You can say that again,” Izuku whispered back.

“Um, Izuku? Katsuki?” Ochako asked, “Hey, how ‘bout I take you both out to Magix city tonight? You can tell me all about the headmaster and I can show more around the Magic Dimension.”

“That sounds really nice, actually!” Izuku said.

“Eh, why not,” Katsuki answered. “Not like I have anything better to do.”

“Great! I’ll meet you both at the front gates in an hour!”

As Izuku stepped out of the line, he waved to Ochako, who returned the gesture. He followed Aizawa, who led both boys through a set of long, elegant halls in the building.

He finally stopped at a large wooden door at the end of the hall. He gestured towards their bags, likely to leave them at the door. “He’s in here,” he said. “I’m leaving you both to him and going back out to the courtyard and helping with the check in. Find me if you need anything.”

Aizawa walked away, leaving Izuku and Katsuki staring at each other. 

“I guess we head in now?” Izuku asked.

As both boys entered the room, Izuku’s mind was curious about what the headmaster would be like. Perhaps they’d be strong and strict, able to strike fear into anyone with a single glance. Or maybe they’d be warm and loving, able to say just the right thing to help out anyone.

What he wasn’t expecting was for a mouse-bear hybrid thing to be the headmaster.

“What the shit…” Katsuki whispered under his breath.

“It’s good to see you both,” the headmaster said, “In case you couldn’t guess, I’m the headmaster of this school, Nedzu.”

The clock in the room kept ticking loudly as Nedzu stared at them both.

“I’m guessing I might be a little strange to you,” he said, “After all, last I checked, Earth doesn’t have anything quite like me, doesn’t it?”

“To be fair,” Izuku said, “there are a lot of things here that Earth doesn’t have.”

“Well then,” Nedzu said, “all the more for you to discover then, young man! Now, could you let me know who is who? I’m afraid Aizawa was not very descriptive on the phone.”

“Mido–” Izuku paused. His mind flashed back to how the teacher organized Ochako’s name. “Izuku. Izuku Midoriya.” The unusual placement felt funny in his mouth, even if it was just switching the order of two words. Yep. This was going to take awhile to get used to.

“Katsuki Bakugo.”

“Well, Izuku, Katsuki,” Nedzu said, “I’m very happy to have you both here. It’s not everyday you get to enlist two fairies from Earth.”

“Do you even have room for us?” Izuku asked.

“Of course,” Nedzu said, “A few spare spots, plus earlier this morning I received a message that someone had dropped out. So room we do have!

“In fact, I was even able to assign you both the same dorm room! It’s co-ed, though. I can change you both if you’d prefer not to be in one. I can’t assure you’d stay together, though.”

A co-ed dorm, huh? Izuku wasn’t opposed to the idea. He didn’t mind not rooming right next door to other guys. Besides, he was more concerned with sticking with the only other person in the same boat as him right now.

Izuku looked over at Katsuki, who simply shook his head. “Thanks, Sir, but we’ll pass. Co-Ed is fine.”

“Very well then,” Nedzu said, “that makes things easier on my end. Now from my understanding, you boys don’t understand Magian at all, do you?”

“Magian?” Izuku asked. “Is that what everyone was speaking out there?”

“Either that or their home planet’s language,” Nedzu answered, “Out systems can easily translate the Magic Dimension’s languages, but they’re clueless when it comes to Earth. Mostly because we’ve never had a need to before you both came along.” He pulled out a small laptop. “Now tell me, what language were you speaking back home?”

“Japanese, Sir.”

“Hm, let’s see.” Nedzu opened up his laptop and clicked away at some keys. Izuku saw the headmaster’s face curl in a combination of shock and disgust. His mouth moved, Izuku catching the traces of something along the lines of ‘the absurdity of three alphabets.’

“Well, that doesn’t matter,” he said, sliding the laptop aside. “Because I already have a plan that won’t potentially blow up the translators!”

“Hm?” Katsuki asked.

“In case you boys didn’t know,” Nedzu said, “magic can be embedded in objects. So all we have to do is just get some small little rings, put in some extra strength translation magic, and it’ll be like you’ve been speaking Magian right out of the womb!”

Izuku pushed aside the headmaster’s word choice and he watched him jump out of the chair he was sitting in. He walked around the desk, which was as tall as he was, and grabbed Katsuki’s hand. Before the boy could react, Nedzu had pulled out a tiny white measuring tape that resembled a zip tie. He wrapped it around Katsuki’s ring finger, pulling it until it was snug.

“Hm, very good,” he said, letting go of his hand. He moved on to Izuku, repeating the process.

“I’ll send off the measurements to an old friend of mine,” he said, walking back towards his desk. “They’ll also take care of the spell, so as long as you’re wearing the rings, you’ll be able to communicate with everyone. I’ll just alert the teachers that they’ll need to charm your written assignments in order to read them.”

He slid back into his chair. “I’m sure there’s a million things I can ask you both about, but I don’t want to keep you long. I should leave you time to settle in for today. Besides, I’ll need to form schedules for the both of you. We’ll save the next batch of things for tomorrow when the rings come.”

“I understand, Sir,” Izuku said, not fully understanding everything. “Though, where are the dorms?”

“Shota will see you to them.”

“Aizawa left,” Katsuki said.

“Well then,” Nedzu said, “I’ll bring that up next time I see him… but just go down the hall, turn right, then left, then right again, left one more time, right again, and you’ll find the dorms! You’re both room 107. No need for keys or anything. And please, if you have any questions at all, feel free to come into my office.”  
•••  
Room 107 had five names on the door, one of them crossed out. Most likely the drop out, Izuku guessed. As he looked at the names, two things surprised him:

One. Co-ed here meant something much different here than on Earth. Apparently, here co-ed dorms were literally split down the middle. How else could he be sharing a dorm with the same girl who introduced him to magic?

Two. Royalty could and would attend this school. Izuku gulped as he worried about sharing the space with one listed princess and prince. Surely nothing would go wrong, right?

“What are you waiting for?” Katsuki asked, pushing open the door.

“Nothing,” Izuku answered, walking in.

The room looked, in a word, cozy. There was a large window on the other side of the room, letting in waves of sunlight. The light landed on a cluster of chairs and a couch, which surrounded a large coffee table. On each wall were two doors, each one inscribed with the same names from the main door. By the back right door there was a pair of gray shoes. Izuku placed his bag down and walked over towards the left.

Ochako poked her head out the door. “Wait. Izuku? Katsuki? How’d you’d find my dorm?”

“We were placed here,” Izuku said.

Ochako’s eyes lit up as her face gleamed with excitement. “This is fantastic! It’s so nice to be rooming with people you already know!”

“Someone else is here?” An unknown voice asked. The three of them turned towards the second door on Ochako’s side as the voice walked out. Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail that went down towards her shoulders. She wore a nice, white button up, a gray sweater and a red skirt that flared out and stopped at the knees. On her feet were gray flats.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” she said, “I’m Momo.”

Izuku’s mind flashed back to the list of names on the front door, remembering the ‘princess’ title attached to the girl’s name. He froze up on the spot. “It’s nice to meet you, your highness Yaoyorozu-hime.”

She looked at him before speaking. “Please, there’s no need to be so fancy. We’re roommates after all! Just call me ‘Momo’.”

“Okay…” Izuku said, jotting that down in his head.

“Though, what was that ‘hime’ part you attached to my name at the end? I’ve never heard it before.”

It hit Izuku right then and there that he was now in a world with no honorifics. “Oh, um. it’s just a title we use back home for people of a really important status.”

“Hold on. Is that like the ‘san’ thing that you’ve been using with me?” Ochako asked.

“Kinda?” Izuku said. “I mean, it is, but it’s for a different position than ‘hime’. It’s more for a female you know but aren’t super close with.”

“Well you’re aren’t gonna need it here,” Ochako said.

“Yeah,” Izuku said, “I figured.” He looked back at Momo. He noticed her eyes shimmered slightly and her irises were surrounded by dark gray rings. The tips of her ears were also pointed.

“Is something wrong?” she asked. “Is there something on my face?”

Izuku snapped back into reality and quickly stopped staring at the girl. “No, no! Nothing’s wrong! I didn’t mean to stare, honestly!” He felt his cheeks flare up the longer he kept talking. “It’s just that– I mean, I had– how do I put this without being a complete idiot?”

Momo tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I won’t be offended. Go ahead and ask.”

Izuku rubbed his thumbs together. “You see, I was just curious about, well, about your ears. And your eyes. Why are they like that?”

Momo let out a soft chuckle as she flashed a smile. “Oh? It’s quite simple, really. I’m an elf.”

“An elf?” Katsuki asked. “Like, immortal beings?”

“No, I’m very much mortal,” she answered, “Elves are a lot like humans, minus the different ears and eyes.”

“Wait,” Izuku turned towards Ochako. “Are elves one of the species you were talking about?” The phrase felt very awkward on his tongue.”

“Right!” She said, “I nearly forgot I was explaining that to you!”

“So that’s what you two were talking about earlier,” Katsuki said.

“Yep! Izuku was curious about all the different species, so I was simply helping him out!”

“Most magi are human,” Momo began, “but several species have magi. Outside of elves, there are satyr and dwarf magi, to name a few.”

Izuku’s mind began to buzz with old Greek myths and Tolkien tales. Stories of hardy dwarves and horny satyrs were brought to the forefront. “What are they like? Satyrs and dwarves.”

“Not too different,” Momo answered, “satyrs have the hooves, tails, and ears of goats and horses, as well as horns. Dwarves have dark sclera, a variety of skin colors, and square ears. 

“Interesting,” Izuku replied. A wave of relief swept over him as the stories he knew were erased by the brand new reality in front of him. Especially when it came to satyrs. He wasn’t sure how he could have dealt with the sexual version the .greeks wrote about. 

“There are other magi,” Momo continued, “like mers and dhampyrs, but they aren’t as common as the others.”

“Basically what she said,” Ochako added on, her cheeks slightly pink. 

“Did I step on your toes?” Momo asked. “I didn’t mean to do so, honest.”

“No, no, you’re fine!” Ochako answered. “Besides, you did a really good job explaining it!”

“Wait,” Katsuki interrupted, “what about the ogre that attacked us yesterday?”

“You got attacked yesterday?” Momo asked, visible concern painted on her face. 

“It’s a long story…” Ochako sighed. “But ogres can’t become magi. Their internal magic isn’t strong enough.”

“Internal magic?” Izuku asked. 

“It’s so,etching everyone has,” Momo answered, “If it’s strong enough, you can learn to channel it and become a magi.”

“Amazing…” Izuku said, star struck. 

“Though, I am curious about something, if you don’t mind answering,” Momo began. “I don’t think there’s a single soul I’m the Magic Dimension that doesn’t know about internal magic.”

“Earth,” Izuku answered. Momo’s response was a small gasp of surprise, a hand delicately covering her mouth. “Um,” Izuku said, “is something wrong with that?”

“I’m sorry. That was terribly rude of me. It was just shock. I was just sure magic didn’t exist there.”

“And so was I a couple days ago,” Katsuki said, “But turns out we were wrong.”

“Wrong about what?” A new voice said.

The four of them turned around to see a girl with a stylishly short purple hair cut standing at the door. She was wearing a well-loved t-shirt with some kind of band logo on it, ripped jeans with strands stretching over the holes, and Converse style shoes. Her ears were pierced and featured two long prism dangles. “Kyoka, by the way.”

“Ochako,” she said, “We’re sharing a room together.”

“Cool,” Kyoka said, “Hope you don’t mind if I practice in there.”

“I’m Momo,” she said, “What do you practice?”

“Music. The guitar mostly,” Kyoka answered. “My parents have been teaching me a lot of different instruments since I could walk.”

“I’m impressed,” Izuku said, “I tried music once. It didn’t go so well.”

“If I remember correctly,” Katsuki smirked, “the teacher said you sounded like a dying whale being held hostage.” A small snort came out from Ochako, even as she quickly covered up her mouth.

“Katsuki-chan, why do you still remember that?” Izuku asked.

“I dunno. Maybe just to mess with you.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Izuku sighed. 

“Do you have a name? Or am I gonna have to end up calling you ‘whale boy’ for the next three years?” Kyoka asked. She flashed her own smirk at him, though hers was more welcoming and less shit-eating compared to Katsuki’s.

“No, you won’t have to. I have a name. It’s Izuku.”

“And you must be Katsuki-chan,” Kyoka said, pointing at said boy.

“It’s just Katsuki.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Cultural differences,” Izuku said. “We’ll explain more later.”

“That should be all of us,” Momo said, looking over at the shoes by the door.

“Who’s in there, and why would they be spending so much time in their room?” Kyoka asked.

“Maybe they’re just nervous and need some time to breathe?” Ochako said.

“They’ve been in there for over thirty minutes,” Momo countered.

“Some people take longer than others?”

Izuku walked over to the door and knocked. “Can we come in?”

In a second, the door opened up, revealing a boy with red-and-white hair, split straight down the middle. A pair of mismatched eyes met his, one gray and the other blue, the blue one surrounded by a nasty scar. The boy wore a light blue turtle neck, black jeans, and socks.

“You knocked?” He asked.

Izuku nodded. “We were just also curious about you. You know, wanting to get to know you and stuff.”

The boy stared back at him. “That’s all?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Izuku said, feeling silly.

“I was just setting up my room,” he said, stepping out of the way. Inside the room the floor appeared to be completely redone from the central room carpet. The new flooring reminded Izuku of shrines and traditional homes he had seen on various school trips and special prayers.

Ochako– who must have snuck up behind him– gasped at the room. “How did you manage to do that?” She asked.

“Hard work,” the boy answered. 

“Hard work, huh?” she muttered.

Momo caught eyes with the boy. “It’s good to see you again, Shoto.”

“It is,” he said. 

“You both know each other?” Katsuki asked.

“Sort of,” Momo said, “We’d run into each other whenever our parents would work together or throw balls and other big events.”

“Okay, so I’m living with two royals,” Ochako said under her breath. “No worries whatsoever.”

Izuku smiled at her. It was nice to have someone else shocked by the royalty thing as well.

“That reminds me,” Ochako said, “I’d promised that after we all settled in, I’d take Izuku and Katsuki out to Magix city. How ‘bout after we all unpack, we all go together and get to know each other better?”

“I’m game,” Kyoka said.

“Sounds fun,” Momo said.

Shoto nodded in response.

“Though,” Momo added, “there is an assembly later on today some time after lunch. Just a general beginning of the year speech. I bet the staff will let us out after that.”

“After the speech it is!” Ochako said, “I should finish unpacking then.”

“I should probably start,” Kyoka said.

“I’ll help you out,” Ochako said. “No sweat!”

The two girls entered the shared room together, closing it.

“Wait,” Katsuki began, “how come you two get separate rooms while the rest of us have to share?”

“I’m not quite sure,” Momo said, “If it’s any consolation, the double rooms are bigger than the single. Right, Shoto?”

“Right,” he said, “I’ll just return to finishing setting up now.” He closed the door to his room.

“Man, what an energetic guy,” Katsuki said.

“Katsuki-chan! Show a little more respect!”

“What? Just stating the truth.”

“I’m sorry about him, Yaoyo– Momo,” Izuku said, “Katsuki-chan’s… a little rough around the edges.”

“Geez, you sound like my mom,”

“Well, she is right about a lot of things.”

Momo chuckled at their bickering. “It’s fine,” she assured, “I’ve known for years now that Shoto’s not the most approachable of people and tends to come off as cold.”

“Can you share why?” Izuku asked.

Momo shook her head. “I only know some of the photo, not the whole picture. Besides, it isn’t my story to share, anyways.”

“Thanks anyways,” Izuku said.

“Of course,” Momo said, “I should finish setting things up before we’re called to lunch. Let me know if you need anything.”

“We will,” Izuku said.

It was once again just the two of them as Momo returned to her room. Izuku looked over at Katsuki. “So I guess we’re roommates, huh?”

“Unless you wanna sleep out here in this room, then we are.”

“I’ll pass,” Izuku said. He grabbed his suitcase again, walked over to the other door on the right, and opened it. Inside were two beds, two desks with chairs, and a closet on each side.

“Right,” Izuku said to himself, “time to make this place feel like home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that’s it for now! The next chapter is expected to be a big one (in terms of content and the art I’m doing for it), so it might take a bit longer than the others. Plus, I didn’t have the draft of it on Google Docs so 5.4k words aren’t up I’m the air for the moment.
> 
> With all that said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a great day/night/whatever!


	4. Gonna Get a Little Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of the Magic Dimension is discovered, though not without an unfortunate run-in with witches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back!
> 
> I hope you're all doing well. Lord knows the past few weeks have been crazy for everyone. Hopefully, this update can be a breath of fresh air to all.
> 
> In case you're not aware, there's actually a week coming up for the OT3! It starts on April 6th! I'm planning to participate myself, though I'm a little behind as my muse has been a bit stubborn lately. If you wanna know more info, be sure to look here! https://todoizuocha-week.tumblr.com/post/190973304571/hello-everyone-we-are-happy-to-announce-the
> 
> Also, there is a new design in this chapter! Which means new art! https://catlliecal.tumblr.com/post/614131188601339904/new-chapter-in-a-few-moments-and-with-a-new
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> (Also, small blood and injury warning. What can I say, it's Himiko.)

Lunch had been a large buffet of various sandwiches and sides. Students had spread themselves out at the various tables. At the moment it was just the first-year students. Various clumps of teenagers were scattered out, just about all of them sticking to their assigned dorm mates.

“So,” Kyoka said, sitting right across from Izuku and Katsuki, “where are you two from?”

“Earth,” Izuku answered before taking a bite out of his sandwich. The meat reminded him of chicken.

“How’d you end up here in the Magic Dimension then?” she asked. “Last I checked, Earth was magic dead.”

“Accidental teleportation on my part,” Ochako said. “Managed to save those two, had to fend off an ogre, and next thing you knew their magic had surfaced up.”

“You did mention that part earlier,” Momo said. “and I’m quite curious as to why you were attacked. Do you know?”

“Honestly? Not sure,” Ochako said. “I mean, I’m not anyone special by any means. Think the ogre said something about its bosses wanting to capture a fairy. Guess those bosses didn’t care who it was. Doesn’t make the experience any less fun, though.”

Izuku looked over at Ochako, her face twisting as she was likely remembering the event.

“It wasn’t all bad, though. After all, you got to meet us ‘cause of it.”

Ochako shot a glance at Izuku, followed up by a warm smile. “Yeah. Guess you’re right.”

“Of course,” Izuku replied. 

“That reminds me,” Momo said. “We don’t really know a lot about everyone, don’t we?”

“Guess you’re right.” Kyoka answered.

“Well, why don’t we share a little bit about ourselves until lunch is over?”

Questions flew back and forth like a tennis ball during an intense match. Topics danced all over the place, going from people’s home planets (a concept Izuku was still getting used to), to their hobbies, families, and whatnot. Kyoka revealed her parents were somewhat famous back on her home of Melody, going around and performing. Momo shared a little bit about what it was like growing up under royalty, but more about her love of reading. Ochako told them all about her sweet tooth and the joys she felt whenever she got to splurge a little on a sugary treat. Shoto mostly kept to himself, but the quintet managed to get him to spill that he was the youngest of four. Katsuki and Izuku ended up talking the most, partly because Izuku kept asking questions about magic, but mostly because everyone kept asking them what growing up on Earth was like.

A bell rang on the speakers, followed by a recorded voice. “First-years, please make your way to the auditorium for the Headmaster’s opening speech. Second-years, the cafeteria is open for you to have lunch now.”

The cluster of first years-made their way into the auditorium, the room oddly devoid of any chairs. Izuku looked around at the people he’d be spending the next three years with. Ochako and Momo’s words echoed in his head as he noticed pointed elf ears, hoofed satyr legs, and bright dwarf skin. He did his best not to stare, yet it was all so new to him that he couldn’t help but look maybe a little too long at the differences. Surely he’d get used to it over time. At least, he hoped so. 

“Students, could I have you settle down?” A voice asked. The room turned towards the podium, where Nedzu was standing with a microphone. Next to Nedzu was Aizawa.

“Does anyone know what species the headmaster is, exactly?” Katsuki whispered.

“Not really,” Momo replied, “All anyone knows about him is that he’s the headmaster and uses magic. Everything else is surrounded in mystery.”

“Dammit.”

“Thank you. I am Nedzu, your headmaster here to help each of you bloom into the best fairy you can possibly be. Over these next three years, the rest of the staff and I will push each and everyone one of you to your limits. Some of you will be preparing to fight evil, while others will be stepping up and leading your communities or perhaps even your own kingdoms. Regardless of the path you have in your future, you will all walk out of here with a stronger connection to your winx.”

The last word rang in Izuku’s head. Despite the word being so new and foreign to him, it hadn’t translated at all. Unless there was a strange, niche concept called a “winx” back home. Not like that was likely. After all, it had to be something important enough for the headmaster to mention it. Why would he mention some weird, small Earth term? A jargon, perhaps?

“Though, in order to work together, there are a few things I ask of you. First, I ask for no magic use without a teacher to watch you. In other words, I ask you all not to use your powers in your rooms or the hallways. In case you weren’t aware, last year there was a large accident due to a student using their magic unsupervised.”

Visible frustration was painted all over Aizawa’s face. Izuku flashed back to what he had heard earlier about the wall-destroying explosion in the labs.

“Second, we ask that you all keep away from any witches from Tartarus. They’ve long had a history of messing with students that wander onto their campus. You’ll likely be coming back here with some kind of curse placed on you by one of the students there. It’s easier for all if you just stay away.”

A small chill ran through Izuku’s back. He supposed that living in a world of magic came with its own risks of dangers like curses. Yet he was more afraid by what little he knew of witches. After all, the fairy stories he had grown up with were wildly inaccurate. Who wasn’t to say the stories he had heard about witches were just as wrong?

“Of course, those aren’t the only rules here,” Nedzu said, “but the rest can be found in a guidebook in your rooms. Now, I don’t want to hold onto you for too long on the eve of your classes. If you step outside you’ll find tables with your schedules. Classes will start at eight thirty tomorrow. Oh, and uniforms are not required until next week.”

“Uniforms?” Izuku thought out loud. Nedzu had mentioned nothing of them earlier. Perhaps it was one of the things he was going to bring up tomorrow?

He and Katsuki mindlessly followed the crowd as they made their way out the room, staying close to the fringes. He watched as people dispersed themselves into various lines, walking away with small slips of paper. 

Momo was the first to make contact with the two of them, Ochako following close behind.

“I’m assuming the staff needs to make some schedules for the both of you?” Momo asked.

“Yeah,” Izuku said.

Shoto was the next to join them, still silent as ever. He didn’t protest to Ochako comparing their schedules, seeing if they shared any classes.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting,” Kyoka said as she ran up to the group. “Got caught in a long line. You’re all lucky, ya know? Having last names like yours.”

“It’s totally fine!” Ochako said, folding up her schedule and slipping it into her pocket. “Now come on! If we’re lucky, there should be a bus that comes by the school and we can hitch a ride on it.”

They were lucky, as there indeed was a bus that came by the school. It looked like it had driven out of a sci-fi movie more than anything else. Aside from its sleek design, it lacked any wheels, moving around by some sort of hovering mechanism. As Izuku stepped on the bus, he walked in the door (which slid away instead of folding open), noticing a small scanner for passes and credit cards by the entryway.

“Dammit,” he cursed, “Pretty sure my yen is useless here.”

“Relax,” Momo said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll pay for both of you on the ride there. I’m sure there's a way to convert your yen into mageuros.”

“But I–”

“Besides,” she cut him off, “it’s not like you’d have any other way of paying for the trip.”

Izuku sighed as he gave into her logic. “First chance I get I’m paying you back.”

The bus was relatively empty, allowing the group of six to sit together. When the bus closed its doors and began moving, Izuku noticed how smooth the ride was. It was far smoother than any of the trains back home. You could barely tell you were moving unless you looked out the window, which right now showed a blur of trees.

“Hey, Ochako-san,” Izuku began.

She held up a finger to his mouth. “Remember. You don’t need that here.” She then lowered her finger, allowing him to continue.

“Right. Um, Ochako,” Izuku said. Like when he rearranged his name, the small change in speech felt funny in his mouth. “What exactly is a winx?”

Her head tilted over to the side a little. “Well, you see–”

“It’s a fairy’s magic,” Shoto said, “My mother would frame it as your personal strength, guide, and identity.” Five heads turned to look at the usually quiet boy, who only stared at them in response. 

“What he said,” Ochako added. “Put it better than I could have.”

“A fairy’s magic…” Izuku muttered.

“It’s more a nickname than anything else,” Momo added on, “For instance, witches don’t have a name for their magic. Their main distinction is that it’s fueled by negativity rather than positivity.”

“Speaking of witches, what are they like?” Izuku asked.

“At the most simple terms, they’re like the opposite of fairies,” Momo said, “Most witches lean towards evil, typically causing mischief at the most basic level. Though a lot of attacks against realms have been led by witches, so most people view them as bad news. Not all witches are bad, just like all fairies aren’t good. In fact, the headmaster of Tartarus is actually a fairly nice man from what I’ve seen. Witches are easy to spot by the markings under their eyes.”

“Hold up,” Katsuki said, “if most of these guys are bad news, then why the Hell do y’all let them just roam freely? And on top of that, give them a school to make them stronger?”

“It’s… complicated,” Ochako said.

“My guess?” Kyoka began, “to sort out the real rotten apples from the bunch. Be easier to stop the dangerous ones when you’re watching over them and teaching them.”

Izuku glanced back over at Shoto, who has turned back away from the rest of the group. Yet from what Izuku could see of his face, he looked uncomfortable, if not slightly ill. His body was unusually tense and hands were curled up into fists, tight ones at that. Izuku wouldn’t be surprised if they were tight enough to leave small nail marks when Shoto finally let them go.

“So,” Izuku spoke, turning back to the rest of the group. “Are there just those two schools?”

“Nope,” Ochako answered, “There’s one more!”

“What is it like?” Izuku asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shoto start to relax some.

“Oh, Shiktesu is a pretty cool school,” Kyoka began. “They’re more a combat school then anything else. If you aren’t a witch, fairy, or sorcerer, that’s the top school to go to.”

“Wait,” Katsuki asked, “So, are they preparing people for war?”

“Not exactly,” Ochako said, “Specialists– that’s the name for students at Shiketsu– go there to learn fighting, sure, but it’s not like a military fighter machine. They learn how to protect people without needing magic, since they have none.”

“A lot of them do end up in armies, yes,” Momo added, “but it’s not a requirement. Some work as palace guards while others end up in governments, both local and national. It’s not usual to find non-magical princes and princesses attending. All three schools are actually linked together, but Tartarus tends to do its own thing. UA students do sometimes train with Shiketsu ones, though.”

“Wow,” Izuku said, taking it all in.

“Are we going too fast?” Momo asked, audible concern in her voice.

“No, no, you’re not!” Izuku said, holding up his hands above his chest. “It’s just– I mean, it’s all just so new and so amazing!”

“I’m actually kinda curious what school was like for both of you back on Earth,” Kyoka said, “‘Cause all I can gather is that it’s boring.”

“Couldn’t pick a better descriptor,” Katsuki said, “though ‘torture’ comes in a close second.

“It wasn't that bad…” Izuku sighed.

“Not that bad?” Katsuki snorted, “Even putting aside the ridiculous amount of homework, the teachers were absolute shit, and you know it.”

“How come?” Ochako asked, leaning over. “Did they just not teach you or what?”

“They taught fine, I guess,” Katsuki continued, “though they never did jackshit about the morons that wouldn’t leave Izuku-chan alone. Kept claiming that solving it on our own would ‘build character’ or something. Yet whenever I jumped in to fight them off, I was the one getting in trouble.”

“In their defense–” Izuku interjected.

“You’re actually defending them?”

Silence filled the bus as Izuku re-examined his word choice. “To give context, you always resorted to ‘punch first ask questions later.’”

“‘Cause it was the only way they would listen. But for some reason, self-defense isn’t okay but being a dick is.”

“I surrender,” Izuku sighed, raising his hands above his head. “Of course I know the teachers were shit. I was just trying to look on the bright side, you know?”

“The day you find a bright side in Hell on Earth, let me know.”

“Right,” Izuku said. He heard both Ochako giggle and Kyoka hold back a snort at their banter. He also could have sworn he saw Shoto flash a small smile at the two of them.

“School back home was, like I said, Hell,” Katsuki said, “You’re in the system for twelve/thirteen years, then off to college, and after all that soul sucking experience, it’s off to whatever job you majored in till you retire and/or die.”

“Ouch,” Kyoka said, clicking her tongue at the end of her sentence.

“Attention passengers,” a soft robotic voice interrupted. “We have arrived at Magix City. Please step off if this is your stop.”

“I’ve never been on such a fast bus,” Izuku marveled.

“God, I wish transportation back home would be as quick,” Katsuki said. “Would have made everything much easier.”

As the six stepped off the bus, Momo swiped her credit card three times. “We’ll stop by a bank first to set you two up with accounts.”

Ochako grabbed Izuku’s hand as soon as he stepped off the bus, followed by Katsuki’s hand. She pulled them away from the bus stop and closer to the street. “Gentlemen, I introduce you to Magix City!”

Izuku looked at the city surrounding him. The city, like many other things in this dimension, was very different from the pages of fairy tales. Flying broomsticks and wand shops were nowhere to be seen. The whole place looked less like Harry Potter and more like a polished up version of Tokyo or New York City. People milled among the sidewalks. Large stores had their doors propped open and neon signs above them. Cars traveled up and down the streets. However, the longer he looked, the more the city stood out. Like with the bus, cars hovered in place of wheels. Some of the people walking by had pointed ears, brightly colored skin, and other fantastical traits. There was also a completely different atmosphere than anywhere back on Earth. Izuku could feel magic living and breathing in the air.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Kyoka asked.

“It’s nothing like what you'd find in books back home,” Izuku said, breathless as he kept looking up at the tall skyscrapers. “But in the good way!”

“This place ain’t half bad,” Katsuki said.

“Let’s head out,” Momo said, clapping her hands together. “We can show you both more of the city on the way to the bank.”

“Oh! After the bank, mind if we hit up a couple of stores?” Kyoka asked. “I need to buy a couple things for classes.”

“I don’t see why not,” Momo replied.

The group made their way to the bank, a large marble-white building that actually wasn’t too far away from the bus stop. Inside the building it looked like any other bank, with people pulling out money and managing their accounts. 

“Is anyone here?” Momo asked, walking up to an open counter. “I need some assistance with opening two accounts for my friends.”

A woman with light brown skin and pointed ears walked up on the other side of the counter. “I can help you and your friends out. Are we starting from scratch or linking an old account?”

“That depends,” Momo said, “Could you link accounts from Earth?”

“From Earth?” the woman asked. She looked down at a screen at her side of the counter, pressing in some buttons on the screen. “What do ya know. Turns out we can. There will be a small fee attached to a linkage from Earth. Is that okay?”

“It’s fine,” Momo said. “Not a problem at all.”

“Now,” the woman said, “who are these people from Earth who need new accounts? I know it’s not you, unless someone from Earth is the splitting image of Phylios’ princess.”

“It’s not me,” Momo replied as she stepped back. She turned to Izuku and Katsuki. “It’s these two.”

“Very good!” the cashier said. “Could I get names you registered in your accounts?”

“Mi–Izuku. Izuku Midoriya.”

“Katsuki Bakugo.”

The woman punched a few keys on her screen. “Okay. Can I get the location where your account is located?”

“Musutafu, Japan. For both of us.” Izuku said.

The woman clicked on her screen some more. Her face twisted in confusion before she smiled at both boys. “Say, your home, Japan. It wouldn’t happen to place your surnames first, would it?”

“It does,” Izuku said.

“Great!” the woman said, “Because I found accounts for a Midoriya Izuku and a Bakugo Katsuki in the system! Could I see credit cards for both of you?”

Katsuki dug into his pants and pulled out a wallet, Izuku doing the same. They both pulled out their cards and handed them to the woman, who proceeded to place both of them into some sort of machine. The machine produced two new cards before spitting out the old ones.

“And we’re good!” she said. “Your accounts are linked! Your old cards will still work whenever you visit home.” The woman handed the cards back to the boys, including the two ones that would work in the Magic Dimension.

“Now you’ll find that a hundred yen is equal to one mageuro. If you ever need to, you can come back here and pull out paper notes from your accounts. Got it?”

“I do,” Izuku said.

Katsuki simply nodded at the woman.

“Then we’re all set! Does anyone else in your party need help with their accounts?”

“We’re all good,” Momo replied, “but thank you for asking.”

“Of course,” the woman said, “have a good day!”

The group walked out of the bank, staring out over the city.

“Alright!” Ochako said, pumping her fist into the air. “We got the rest of the afternoon to explore, so let’s make the best of it!”

“Didn’t you say you needed to buy something?” Shoto asked Kyoka.

“Yeah,” she answered, “There were a few things on the packing list I couldn’t find back home, so I’d figure I’d buy them here.”

“Then where should we start?” Momo asked.

Kyoka noticed a map of the city that was right in front of the bank. She approached the map, scrolling through the list of stores before pointing at one. “Here.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Ochako asked.  
•••  
Looking up at the clock, the second hand taunted Knut as it ticked away. The ogre sighed as he watched the sun sink behind the buildings, the day slipping away.

“This is bad.” He weaved throughout the streets, bumping into someone every now and then. “My bosses want the fairy by tonight, and I have no idea where he even is! At this rate I’ll end up like all the people in the rumors!”

He sighed, leaning his head onto a lamppost. As he lifted his head up, he saw the not-so-small imprint left behind. Just great.

He looked around to see if anyone had noticed the dent and gone to report him to the police for it. Most people were tucked into buildings, busy eating away at wonderful meals. The fragrant and delicious smells taunted the ogre. The only people left on the streets were stray shoppers and those going to dinner.

Knut noticed a rather large group walk by him, passing an interdimensional phone booth. They looked like six young students out for fun before the school year began. Yet something felt off. Quickly pulling out his glasses, he looked over the crowd again and noticed a familiar head of green hair. It was the same hair belonging to the exact boy his bosses wanted. 

“Looks like the universe doesn’t completely hate me,” Knut said as he tucked his glasses back into his pockets. He watched as the boy and his friends entered a restaurant that was only a block away.

“I could go back and tell me bosses I found the fairy,” he looked over his shoulder, “but Witches’ Alley is so far away! It’s best if I just wait right here and wait for him to be alone.” He slipped into the shadows, keeping the phone booth in his sight. “Can’t afford to mess up this time.”  
•••  
After the stop by the bank, the rest of the afternoon had been filled with stopping by various stores that caught everyone’s eyes, looking at all their items and joking around with one another. So much time had passed that the six of them decided it made more sense to get dinner out in Magix before heading back to school for curfew.

The restaurant chosen was average sized and family run, bursting with the scents of fresh cooked bread and meats. The six of them decided to split one large dish, which was a meal that reminded Izuku and Katsuki much of pizza, right down to the sauce.

Midway through the meal, Izuku remembered Inko’s request to call her. He pulled out his phone to write down a quick reminder on it, but found that all it could do was turn on. The touch screen didn’t respond at all, no matter how many times he tapped it. And then it lost the ability to turn on altogether.

“Hey, Katsuki-chan? Is your phone working?”

Katsuki finished up a bite of the pizza-like dish before pulling out his phone. Like with Izuku’s, all it could do was turn on before it stopped doing that.

“Oi,” he said, nose wrinkling. “What’s going on?”

“Let me take a look,” Kyoka said, holding out her hand. “I’m no tech expert, but I’m fairly good with electronics. Helps with music.”

Izuku and Katsuki rock-paper-scissored over who’s phone would be inspected. One match later, Izuku sighed as he handed over his phone to Kyoka. “Katsuki-chan, how do you always beat me at that game?” he asked.

Kyoka got to work taking apart what she could, tongue bleping out as she concentrated. 

“Man, who would have guessed Earth was so far behind?” she said.

“I know it’s not the latest model, but you don’t have to rub it in,” Izuku said. He quite liked having the headphone jacks the newer models lacked.

“No, no. It has nothing to do with the model,” she said, “it’s not surprising your phones don’t work without an inter-realm chip in them, but from what it looks like, it’s almost like they got fried via magic.”

Izuku gritted his teeth together as he took a sharp breath in. “There goes my connection back home,” he sighed.

“It’ll be alright. I can at least save the data on here,” Kyoka said, flashing a sympathetic smile at him. “Making them work 100% here might take some time, aside from placing in that chip. But I’m pretty sure it can be done.”

Ochako tapped her finger on her chin. “I saw a phone booth outside the restaurant, and those should be able to link back to Earth.”

“That’s a relief,” Izuku said, “I promised my parents I’d call them tonight.”

“Why don’t you go do that right now while one of us takes care of the bill?” Kyoka suggested. “Besides, bills tend to come faster when one of your party members walks out.”

“Sure,” Izuku said, sliding out of his chair. He walked out of the restaurant and found the phone booth no problem. It was slightly out of view from the restaurant, and it wasn’t shaped that differently than photos of booths from back home. The booth had printed out some basic instructions, making it easy to dial back home. The phone rang a few times before it was finally picked up.

“Hello,” Inko said, “Midoriya residence.”

“It’s just me, okaasan,” Izuku answered.

“Izuku!” she cried. “It’s good to hear you again! Tell me, have you settled in well?”

“I have,” he answered, “Katsuki-chan and I are living together, along with Ochako-san, as strange as that sounds. We’re actually out along with our three other dorm mates having dinner.”

“It’s great to hear that you’re settling in already,” she said. Izuku was sure that if he could see her face, he’d find one of her warm, motherly smiles wrapped across it. “Now, tell more.”

Izuku began to dive deep into every detail he knew of about this new world, Inko interrupting every now and then to give her own two yen or to ask a question. Not that he minded. He was used to his mother doing this, challenging him to organize his ramblings into coherent world building.

He was so deep into explanation that he didn’t hear anyone come behind him. Perhaps if he did, this large stranger wouldn’t have wrapped his enormous hands over his face. Izuku had dropped the phone in fear, focusing on getting out of the death-like grip he found himself in. But the mysterious person was making it hard to breathe. It wasn’t long before Izuku found himself too weak to fight back and was forced to go whoever this person took him.

Every second in the dark felt like a minute. All he could hear was his own heartbeat and the loud footsteps of whoever grabbed him. After what felt like forever Izuku was finally let go. Well, thrown onto the ground was more like it. He began coughing wildly as he caught his breath. Especially since whoever nabbed him stunk horribly. 

“See? I told you he was here!” An oddly familiar voice rang out. Izuku looked for the source of the voice. As his vision readjusted, he noticed he was in the back of an alley, which was scattered with empty boxes and abandoned crates. A light shone from behind him, a lamppost if he had to guess. The light made his hunt a little bit easier, as he laid eyes on the kidnapper. Fate seemed to be picking on Izuku, as the very same ogre who had attacked twice yesterday had kidnapped him.

‘Well,’ Izuku thought, ‘that explains the smell.’

“Good job,” an unknown voice said. “You finally did something right for once.” The voice ran with dryness and raspiness, as if the speaker hadn’t touched water in a month or something.

“Hey,” a second voice cooed, “I wanna take a looksee at him.”

Without even waiting for a response, the second voice started walking out of the shadows towards him. Or, at least, that’s what Izuku assumed, as footsteps echoed in the alleyway.

A girl with deathly pale skin and blonde hair in two messy buns emerged from the shadows as she twirled a knife in her hand. She was wearing a dark brown duffle jacket that cut off at her waist. Her shirt was gray so dark it almost looked black, and it was held up by pentagram style straps. She wore a deep blue schoolgirl skirt, knee socks the same color as her shirt, and lace up ankle boots that matched her jacket’s coloring. On her neck was a simple black choker with a blood-red teardrop pendant hanging from it. Her yellow eyes were bubbling with a dangerous wonder. Yet what alarmed Izuku the most was what framed her eyes: blood red marks on her bottom lids.

“Witch marks…” he found himself wondering out loud. “Is that what they look like?”

“Ooo,” she squeed, her voice ringing with terrifying childlike wonder. She skipped a little as she approached Izuku. “Knut!” She yelled. “Hold him for me.”

Izuku felt himself pinned down to the ground faster than should have been humanly possible. The concrete ground scraped at his skin as he tried to worm free. He stopped trying to escape when the crazed girl placed the knife she was twirling under his chin. “I’m not gonna lie, he’s kinda cute. A little too cleaned up for my tastes, but nothing a little blood can’t fix.” Her voice raised up an octave on that last phrase, and Izuku shivered. He felt the knife press just a little bit too deep into his skin as she flashed a full smile at him. Unable to turn away, he found himself face to face with the girl, who apparently had dark yellow pupils and two small fangs.

“I…” he pushed himself to speak, “I’m okay with how I look.”

“Himiko,” a third voice, deep, jaded, and done with the girl’s bullshit, called out. “Stop trying to flirt with him.” 

“Aw,” the girl– Himiko– pouted, looking over Izuku’s shoulder, presumably at the shadows. “You two never let me have fun with them.” She sighed as she removed her foot from his shoulder, throwing one more spine-shivering, lustful glance back at Izuku before removing the knife from his chin. But unlike removing it like a normal person, she traced the tip of the blade up the underside. Once it was out, she gave the knife a small twirl in the air before stepping back. Knut slowly released him.

Izuku quickly stood back up, brushing off the dirt from his body and rubbing his chin. The knife had stung a little, and he felt the beginnings of a cut that he already knew would leave a scar. Regardless, his mind ran with cries to get away, to get back to the group. He took small steps back, but bumped into an unknown figure, one that smelled of ash and smoke. Izuku turned around and found himself looking up at a haunting pair of blue eyes surrounded by purple marks, some of which were burned on.

Izuku felt his heart race a thousand meters per second as the man placed a hand on Izuku’s right shoulder. Blue flames emerged from the man’s hand as he gave the creepiest smile Izuku had ever seen.

“Hey there,” the man said, “why don’t you stay for awhile?”

Izuku slapped the man’s hand off his shoulder. Looking down, he found that his now burnt off sleeve was slipping down his arm, a good chunk of his shirt devoured by the fire. His own skin was bright pink and warm like a sunburn.

“Then again,” he said, “not like you have much of a choice.”

Izuku gritted his teeth together, looking over his shoulder for anywhere to escape. Out of the corner of his eye he saw what looked like an open spot. He quickly bolted over, but the chance for escape slipped from his hands as he ran into a third figure that came out of seemingly nowhere. Slowly backing up, he could see this mystery man was wearing black clothing with white handprints. A black choker hung around his neck, a small bottle of dust hanging off. His hair was light blue and fell to his shoulders, and even from a distance, Izuku could see the man’s skin was dry and chapped. The dryness of his skin only made the blue marks around his eyes even more noticeable.

“Look,” Izuku began, slowly shifting his legs into a basic fight stance. “I don’t think I’m the one you’re looking for. I think you mistook me for someone else.”

“I don’t think so,” the mysterious figure said. “Knut here may be an idiot, but not enough of one to mess up a third time. Right?” The man flashes his red eyes at the ogre– Knut, they called him. To Izuku’s surprise, Knut looked genuinely scared.

“I swear.” Knut clasped his hands together as if he were praying. “This is the boy.”

The blue haired man simply growled as he kept staring at him.

“Hey,” Himiko twirled the knife so fast it was a miracle her fingers were still attached. “There’s always one way to check if he screwed up.”

“And that’s?” The purple man asked.

“We play with him!” She squealed, throwing the knife Izuku’s way. He watched it graze by his face as he quickly stepped to the side. Yet out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl with more knives in her hand, though these ones were red from what Izuku could make out.

As she threw them his way, Himiko squealed in one of the most uncanny valley ways Izuku ever heard. As a barrage of knives came his way, Izuku kept swerving out of the way, though he had a few more lucky dodges than he was comfortable with. Yet no matter how many times he dodged, the girl always seemed to make more things to throw at him.

“Aaaaw,” Himiko cried, “Why am I the one doing all the work? Why can’t you jerks help me out?”

Something lit up bright blue behind Izuku, likely the same man who burned off part of Izuku’s shirt before. In a second, Izuku found himself surrounded by blue flames. In the midst of the confusion, he felt one of the knives hit his left wrist. Izuku watched as the embedded blade began to melt, dripping down like blood onto his skin before hardening itself.

“Thank you, Dabi!” Himiko singsonged before throwing another knife at him. Izuku felt his breathing pick up the pace as he saw the mysterious blood blade come his way. Yet it was at that moment he remembered he wasn’t defenseless. He focused on Ochako’s guidance from the day before back in his house. 

He held up his right hand, picturing a shield coming up right in front of his palm. And it did. But it wasn’t enough. His attempts to focus cracked under the fear, panic, and adrenaline. The shield cracked after taking a single hit, leaving him right open for an attack. There wasn’t enough time to move as Izuku felt another blade pierce his skin, this one right in the center of his palm. He jerked his hand up as he bit his lip. The blade melted again and covered his wrist and some of his arm before hardening like the first one. She managed to get two more shots in his legs, the blood spreading out as he fell onto his knees. He hissed as the pain vibrated through his body.

“How stupid,” the hand print man said, sashaying over. “You can barely use your magic, now can you, little fairy?” His smile twisted his whole face, sending heart-pounding chills down Izuku’s back. 

“That’s not it…” Izuku muttered.

“Really?” the mysterious man flashed a glare at Dabi. “Then show us.”

“I will!” Yet deep down, something rang in him that he couldn’t.

The flames surrounding Izuku exploded in size, dancing way above his head. He began coughing as smoke surrounded him, the overwhelming fumes shocking his systems. Small whips of the flame lashed out at him, leaving small slash burns in his clothes as the flames whipped his skin. Suddenly the flames vanished as quickly as they appeared, and Izuku felt something new and heavy slam into his chest. He smashed into the brick wall, feeling warm, sticky blood dripping down his head and neck. He glanced down, looking at what appeared to be squirming ash pinning him into the wall. He slowly looked up at the blue haired man, whose hand was curled into a claw and sparking with energy.

“He’s… controlling it?” Izuku muttered. He felt his head begin to sway and his breathing slow down. Muscle aches escalated throughout him as he felt nausea.

“Well then,” the man smirked, “looks like you’re not as stupid as I thought. Turns out you do have some braincells in you. But not enough,” He turned towards Himiko, who was rocking back and forth from the balls of her feet to her heels. “I’m bored. Take over the rest for me.”

She simply giggled in response before looking at Izuku. She flashed another fanged smile at him before snapping her fingers. The blood that had stained itself to his skin began to bubble and expand, only making Izuku even more lightheaded. From what he could make out, the blood had grown enough to clasp him to the wall. Mustering any strength he had left, he tried to break free, but his cage was stronger than stone.

He felt the blood being pulled from the back of his head as something that felt like a muzzle formed in his mouth. Through blurred vision, he could see the hand print man walk over to him. The man grabbed Izuku’s chin and titled up towards his face. He said something, but it all slurred together as Izuku was fighting to stay awake. The man stopped talking and slammed Izuku’s head back into the wall.

That’s when he couldn’t hold on anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp. That happened.
> 
> Please remember to leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed it, as well as share it if you can! I'll see y'all soon!


	5. Open Up Your Heart, Feel That Energy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The back alley fight continues, wrapping up with new night with new discoveries and new mysteries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna update tomorrow but I couldn't help myself. I've had this chapter ready to go for over a week, and since ship week is over, I figured it was okay to update.
> 
> And there's art this time around! https://catlliecal.tumblr.com/post/615566962587729920/we-are-now-back-to-our-regular
> 
> Anywho, please enjoy!
> 
> (small blood/violence warning carrying over from the previous chapter)

Something was itching at the back of Katsuki’s mind.

It was the same itch he felt when he was six and found Izuku locked in the attic. It was also the same itch from when he was ten and found a group of their classmates ganging up on Izuku. Whenever the itch appeared, Katsuki found Izuku in trouble.

And here it was again, ringing in the back of his head after Izuku had been gone for a little too long on a phone call. Sure, he was a rambler. Yet his rambles never went on for more than ten minutes.

“What do you think is holding up Izuku?” Ochako asked. The five of them had walked out of the restaurant, the warm July air faintly blowing as they made their way to the phone booths.

“I don’t know,” Katsuki said, “but I can’t shake off this feeling something bad happened.”

“Dude, chill,” Kyoka lightly punched his shoulder. “I get everything here is new for you two, but I doubt anything serious happened.”

“Then why is the phone swinging from its chord?” Shoto said, simply pointing at the empty booth.

Katsuki felt his pulse pick up as he bolted over to the abandoned phone. Unless this world had some weird system for ending calls, something must have happened for Izuku to leave it hanging in midair.

“Oi!” He pulled the phone up to his ear. “Is anyone on here?” His heart began pumping loud enough for him to hear, and the sight of the call card still in the slot only amplified the volume.

“Hello?” A trembling voice answered. “Who are you, and where is my son?!”

“Inko-san?” Katsuki gapsed.

“Katsuki-chan?” The warmth of Inko’s voice began to shine through. “You don’t know how wonderful it is to hear a familiar voice.”

“It’s great to hear you too, but I need to know. Where is Izuku-chan?”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” he snapped.

“It’s a phone call, not a video call!” she snapped back. “All I know is someone took him mid-call, but I don’t know who it was or where they went!”

Katsuki bit down on his lip.

“Please, go get him back for me,” she said, her voice softer than before. “And when you do, could you have him call me back? It’s silly, but I need to hear him.”

“Of course, Inko-san.”

“Thank you.”

He hung up the phone and pulled out the card before turning back to his dorm mates.

“We heard,” Momo said.

“Then you know we don’t have a second to lose,” Katsuki said.

Kyoka knelt down to the ground, placing one hand on the sidewalk and the other up to her ear. She closed her eyes and faintly muttered something under her breath, her hand glowing a bright violet. Small pulse waves spread out, fading the further they got away. Her eyes snapped open, and she stood back up.

“I know where he was taken,” she said, “At least, I know what direction he went.”

“Then why are we just standing around?” Katsuki asked, “Let’s go!”

Kyoka took the lead, Katsuki following close behind. He heard three more sets of footsteps behind him, the others following suit. Kyoka led them to a sidewalk before ducking into an alleyway.

“Say,” Ochako began, “isn’t this the entrance to Witches’ Alley?”

“I’m afraid you might be right,” Momo said, “Wherever we are matches up very well with what I’ve heard of the place.”

“Quiet!” Kyoka held her hand over her lips, turning her head over her shoulder. “We’re close.”

She stopped at the back of the building, Katsuki leaning over her shoulder. The air smelled of blood for some crazy, very alarming reason, with a strong hint of smoke and ash.

“Oh yeah,” a raspy, dry voice said, “you really showed us.” A ‘thud’ followed suit, likely something slamming into a brick wall that made up the buildings.

Katsuki ran out into the mouth of the alleyway and gasped. That damned ogre was back, this time surrounded by three people that had no clue how to wear eye shadow. Yet what was most shocking was what was pinned up against the wall. Izuku was propped up like an insect on display, his arms held up by a weird red substance. A small muzzle was shoved in his mouth, the cylinder cage the same red as the blobs holding him up. Part of his shirt was burned up, the exposed skin rosy pink. Blood streaks stained his clothes and skin, a few small drops dripping onto the ground.

“What are you thinking?!” Kyoka ran up to him, grabbing his shoulder. “Don’t you think we should at least–” her train of thought was interrupted by a gasp as she saw the scene.

He heard three more sets of footprints run into the mouth of the alleyway. Katsuki shrugged off Kyoka’s grip.

“Eh?” One of the weird eyeshadow people turned around, this one wearing a black jacket with handprints. “What is going on here? Who are these NPCs?”

“We’re his friends,” Ochako said, “and what’s going on is that you’re going to let Izuku go.”

“Really?” the man said, his face bursting into an incredibly creepy and twisted smile. His laughter, which was equally as creepy, echoed in the alleyway like a sick, broken record. “Oh, that’s priceless!” The laughter came to a jarring halt, and the smile changed to a deep scowl just as fast. “Knut, take care of these fools.”

“Uh! Yes, of course!” the ogre flinched. It then raced forward before smacking its fists straight into the ground. Brute strength broke up several chunks of concrete. The pure force pulsed through the ground, knocking the five of them all off their balance at least a little bit.

“Okay then,” Ochako said, “looks like we’re gonna have to get him back ourselves. Let’s go! Magic Winx!”

Ochako’s clothes once again faded away into the same, sparkly dress as a pair of wings came out of her back.

Kyoka’s clothes were replaced by short violet shorts and a violet midriff that was held up by a mauve strap that wrapped around her shoulders. Both pieces shimmered with sparkles. She also wore mauve knee high boots, violet fingerless gloves, and mauve headphones with a violet strap that wrapped around the back of her head. A pair of pointed blue wings emerged from her back.

Momo was now in a shimmering crimson sleeveless one piece that sported shorts. Small patches of red, sheer fabric could be found on her legs and by her collar. One arm band adorned her upper left arm and her right wrist. A small red hair clip was tucked into her hair. Crimson heeled boots adorned her feet. Diamond shaped silver-blue wings were on her back. In her hands, she was now holding a black staff with a golden blade on top. A small gem the same shade as her outfit was embedded in it.

Katsuki looked over to Shoto to see what type of get up he would be wearing, but the reticent boy was still in the same, non-sparkly clothing he had been wearing all day. Not that Katsuki blamed him. He’d much rather not be dumped on by five gallons of glitter, thank you very much.

Shoto knelt down onto the ground, touching his right hand onto the ground. “Wall of frost,” he said, and a wave of ice chunks shot up from the ground. The ice moved right towards the ogre, freezing it in place. The ice continued to move, making its way towards the hand man, who ducked out of the way right at the last second.

“Geez,” the girl called out, “You almost stabbed Tomura with that!”

Shoto simply shrugged in response.

The weird twin bun girl raised up her hands at Shoto. “Sanguis blades!” A cluster of blood red blades formed right in front of her. She pulled her hands into two separate fists, sending the blades forward.

“Power chord!” Kyoka called, raising up her left hand. a stream of violet sound waves flew forward, hitting the incoming attack in midair. The blades flaked away like dried blood.

“Morphix chains!” Momo cried out.

“Zero-G burst!” Ochako yelled, her voice overlapping with Momo’s.

While a sphere of pink light rushed towards the man decorated in burns, a gooey light red substance appeared near the feet of the hand man– what did the blood girl call him? Tomura? Regardless of the man’s name, he found his wrists wrapped up in the mysterious substance, which had hardened into linked chains attached to cuffs.

Katsuki clenched his hands into fists, hoping the same, explosive sparks from yesterday would pop right back out of him. Yet no matter how tightly he clenched his fists, nothing came out. Absolutely zip. God dammit, where was magic when he needed it?!

Just as Ochako’s attack was about to hit the charred man, he raised up his hands, which eruptined with blue flames. The two attacks collided straight into each other, sending out a shock wave over the area. The ice holding the ogre shattered like glass hitting the floor, and some patches of the stuff holding up Izuku– which looked a lot like the blood girl’s blades, now that Katsuki thought about it– dissolved.

“Hmmm,” the now chained hand man said, “you kids are annoying, but at least you know how to put up a good fight.” A dark blue energy swarmed around his hands as he touched one of the chains. “Though, not good enough.” As the energy met the chains, the chains began to dissolve, red dust blowing in the air until they were gone. Now freed from the chains, the dissolving man stood upright, closing his eyes and stretching into the air as his back popped.

Katsuki rushed forward toward him, hoping this moment of distraction could allow him to land at least one good punch. But the man opened up his right lid, and his red eyes met Katsuki’s own. The man’s face twisted into a cruel smile as more of the blue energy formed around his hands. He swiftly lowered his right hand, swinging it right at Katsuki’s fist.

The pain that followed felt like every atom in his hand was shaking, trying to stay together. Katsuki stopped, grabbing his wrist with his good hand. The pain bounced back and forth, and he felt that at any second his hand would explode from the pain. Unfortunately, the bastard who delivered said pain changed up another blast, this one hitting Katsuki square in the chest. Katsuki hit the ground hard as he was thrown back towards the alley’s mouth, the damned concrete scrapping hard against his skin. Yep. That was gonna leave some marks. 

Katsuki stood back up, tightly gritting his teeth as he did his best to ignore his shaking legs. If he could ignore how wobbly they were, then maybe he could ignore the fear inside his heart. Because dammit, he was scared. Though, how could anyone not be? No one could handle seeing their best friend all bloody, passed out, and pinned against the wall behind a bunch of powered creeps.

“Dude!” Kyoka called out, “You okay? You just ran straight at them!”

“Never been better,” he lied, pressing his hand against a stream of blood trickling out. 

Kyoka raised an eyebrow at him, but her expression quickly melted into shock as she noticed a wave of blue flames being thrown her way. She quickly called out for protection, and a shield formed in front of her right arm just a second before the flames could hit her.

Katsuki bit his lip, cursing himself for not being able to help out any more. No matter how much he called out for his magic, not a single drop of it was showing up. Just where was the damned thing?! It was working just fine the last two times he’d been attacked, yet now it was doing jackshit. Now he was completely dependent on these people he’d just met to help save his friend. His best friend. The one he’d been with from the start and had always been able to keep safe. Even when bullies at school managed to hurt Izuku, Katsuki was able to hurt them right back. And with twice the kick of their bite, to boot. He’d always been able to protect Izuku. It didn’t matter what kind of punishment he’d end up getting from adults afterwards, because there was absolutely nothing that was going to stop him.

A smirk slipped onto his face. “Heh,” he remarked. 

This whole mess they were all in right now. It was just another crazy situation. The playing field might have changed, but did that really matter right now? He was still gonna protect Izuku in the end. Nothing was going to stop him.

As a warm, crackling feeling began to pulse through his veins, he started rushing towards Izuku again. He could hear some calls asking him what the Hell he was doing, but they weren’t important right now. Another attack flew his way from the leader, this one even more powerful than the last. Placing his feet firm, he held up his hands to stop it.

It was that moment the feeling inside him exploded throughout his whole body. Energy flowed through every last crevice of him. The power even shot out of his back, causing something new yet oddly familiar to emerge.

The shield in front of him– wait did he make that?!– began to slightly crack as it held off the dark blue energy. The cracks grew bigger and bigger, until the shield broke in hundreds of little pieces. The very same moment the shield broke, a large shock wave exploded in the area, sending everyone flying back. Katsuki felt the strange limb on his back vibrate as it attempted to slow him down. The stuff holding up Izuku finally broke, his body sliding down to the ground like a rag doll.

“I think this is our cue,” Momo cried out the second the explosion died down. She swiped her scepter across the alleyway. A tingly sensation crept up Katsuki before he found his vision being filled by white. When the white died down, so did the sensation. Now that he was able to see again, he saw he was standing at a quiet street corner. The smell of blood and fire was completely gone, likely because he was far away from the alley way.

A few meters away, Izuku’s body laid on the ground. Katsuki rushed over to him, propping him up. 

“Shit,” he swore, “he’s out cold. Just what the Hell did those freaks do?!”

“Allow me,” Momo said as she knelt on the other side of Izuku. “I’ve been heavily trained in healing spells.”

Placing her staff down next to her, she placed both hands over Izuku’s chest. A warm, red glow spread out from her hands and all over Izuku’s body. Izuku’s scabs proceeded to shrink in size, like someone had bumped up the speed of a playback video. The whole thing was absurd, like something right out of fiction. Then again, everything Katsuki had seen for the past two days looked like fiction.

A small groan escaped Izuku as Momo lifted her hands off. His eyes slowly opened up like he was Sleeping Beauty freed from her curse and not magically healed after getting the crap kicked out of him.

“Ka–kacchan?” He groaned.

“Izuku-chan? Come on, speak to me, nerd!”

Izuku’s gaze met Katsuki’s. “What just happened? Where are we? Why do I feel like I just slept for a week?”

“You got attacked and we rescued you, we’re on some random street, and her royal highness here just healed you.”

Momo raised an eyebrow at Katsuki’s last answer. Maybe he shouldn't call her “her royal highness” in the future.

“Well,” Izuku said, “that… that would explain everything.” He tried to stand up, but wobbled as soon as he was back on two feet. Katsuki jolted up and wrapped Izuku’s arm around his own. Izuku’s arm brushed across the strange limb on Katsuki’s back.

“Hey, um, Kacchan?” He said.

“What?”

“Am I still loopy, or are those fairy wings coming from your back? Either way, they look good on you.”

Wait. Wings?

Katsuki strained his head over his neck to find there were wings on his back. Sparkly, red wings that resembled an explosion with all their pointy edges.

Hold up. If he had wings, then shouldn’t his clothes have changed as well?

Glancing down, he discovered that yes, his clothes had also changed. He was now wearing an orange crop top with red criss-cross straps at the top and a singular red strap at the bottom, as well as orange bubble shorts with red straps at the waistband and leg bands. Loose, handless orange gloves covered his forearms, and orange boots covered his calves and feet. Of course, everything was glittery.

“I was wondering when you’d notice,” Ochako said, flashing a smirk.

“Shut up,” he spat, “at least I can make the glitter work.”

“And we can’t?” Ochako asked.

“It’s not that you can’t, it’s just that everything looks better on me.”

“Whatever you say,” Ochako shrugged.

“Excuse me,” Momo said, “but didn’t we promise to call back Izuku’s mother when we found him.”

“Okassan!” Izuku yelled out, “Shit, she’s probably worried sick about me! What do I tell her? If I tell her everything that happened she’ll freak out!”

“Calm down,” Katsuki said. “we’ll do this all together.”

“Really?”

“Really. Now, where the Hell is a phone booth?”  
•••  
Izuku inserted the calling card into the machine for the second time that night. His nerves were bouncing all over the place as he punched in the home phone number. A familiar hand placed itself on his shoulder. He didn’t even have to look behind him to know Katsuki– who was no longer transformed– was right by his side.

It was a surprise to see his childhood friend with a pair of fully functioning wings on his back. Yet it was the good kind of surprise, like a surprise birthday party. What made the surprise even more special was that Katsuki had managed to transform trying to save him. Hearing Kyoka say that touched Izuku. Perhaps he would also unlock his transformation saving Katsuki, or maybe one of his new friends.

The phone rang once before the other end picked up. “Hello? Who is this?”

The sound of his mother’s panicked voice pulled at Izuku’s heartstrings. “It’s me, Okassan.”

“Izuku!” He didn’t even need to see her face to know she was crying. “Thank God you’re okay! I was so, so worried about you! What happened? I need to know!”

“Um,” Izuku began, voice shaking. “You know that ogre that kinda wrecked our house yesterday?”

“What about it? Was it the one who grabbed you?!”

Damn. His mother really had a knack for putting the pieces together. “Yeah.”

“What happened? Was it just the ogre, or did he take you to someone else?”

“He…” Izuku gulped, “he took me to his bosses.”

“That’s what I feared,” she said, “did they hurt you badly? Any broken bones?”

“No, they didn’t break any bones. Just scared me real bad. And maybe I got a bit hurt.”

Inko hissed. Yep. She was panicking.

“But it’s okay!” Izuku said, “Momo-san –oh, she’s one of my roommates– healed me up! Only a few small scratches are left!”

“Did anything else bad happen?”

“No, nothing bad happened. In fact, something good happened!”

“Something good?” Inko asked? “How did something good come out of all this?!”

“Katsuki managed to transform while saving me!”

“I stand corrected,” Inko said, “That’s really great for him, it is! I just wish it could have occurred without you getting into trouble.”

Izuku felt his cheeks flare up. “Don’t we all…”

“But still,” Inko said, “This is just crazy! How do I know you’re gonna stay safe? Why shouldn’t I rip through dimensional fabric to come get you?”

“Well I’m pretty sure doing that would just cause more harm than good…” Izuku muttered.

“Izuku,” she said. Judgement rang through her voice.

“My mistake,” Izuku apologized. He opened his mouth to speak when he felt a new hand on his shoulder. Turning over his shoulder he found Momo looking over him.

“Do you mind if I talk to her?”

“I don’t…” Izuku said, turning away from the phone. “Just give me a second.” He turned back to the phone. “I’m handing you over to someone who can probably likely certainly explain this better than I can. Okay?”

Inko let out a sigh. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

“Thank you,” Izuku said, pulling the phone away from his ear and handing it to Momo. “Oh! You might need–”

“I’ve already applied a translation spell, if that’s what you’re asking.” She winked at him as she pulled the phone up to her ear. “Hello, ma’am? Are you still there?”

“I am. What’s your name?”

“Momo Yaoyorozu, princess of the realm of Phylios, ma’am.”

“A princess?!” Inko was so loud that the loud street lock could have heard her. “How did my son meet a princess?”

“We’re roommates,” Momo answered, absentmindedly tucking back a strand of hair.

“Then you must be the same Momo that healed my son. Thank you for that.”

“It was no trouble, ma’am. Just please don’t blame your son for getting kidnapped. It was our fault.”

“‘Our fault?’” Inko asked

“The rest of our roommates. We all stayed behind while Izuku made his original call, so we didn’t know what happened to him until we saw the empty booth. If one of us had gone with him, then perhaps this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Probably a lot more than ‘perhaps,’ your highness,” Inko snarked, “But I can’t fault you for admitting responsibility.”

“Thank you, ma’am?” Momo scratched the back of her neck. “In the future, I can assure you that we’ll do a much better job at making sure nothing bad happens to Izuku.”

“You promise?” If the two were having a face to face conversation, Izuku was certain his mother, with eyes that could break even the most experienced liars, would be staring down Momo.

“I promise,” Momo said, her voice firm and bold.

Tension hung over the six fairies, seconds moving at the speed of minutes. Izuku kept staring at the phone, waiting for the final verdict. Muffled noises made their way through the other end of the line, and Izuku could make out the familiar sounds of his father and Katsuki’s parents.

After what felt like a millennia, a sigh came from Inko’s end. “I’m gonna regret this,” she began, “but if you’re really serious about keeping him safe, then I guess there’s no reason to bring Izuku back home.”

The group let out small cheers of victory. Izuku let out the breath he had been holding, though he didn’t remember even when he started holding it. That was the least of his problems right now.

“Thank you very much, ma’am,” Momo said, “you made the right choice, I assure you.”

“We’ll see about that,” Inko said, “Just make sure he texts me when you all get back to campus. I need to make sure he won’t get pulled into any more trouble tonight.”

“Of course,” Momo shot Izuku a glance, the kind that said ‘we need to fix this problem fast.’ As Izuku stuck his hand into his pockets, he found his already broken phone even more broken. The cracks on the screen were deep. Man, he really did take quite a beating back there, didn’t he?

“May I speak to my son?” She asked.

“You may. Thank you for letting me speak with you.” Momo handed the phone back to Izuku.

“Okassan?” He said.

“Just do your best to stay safe, okay?” she asked, “I know you have a habit of falling into trouble, but make sure that any trouble that comes your way and not the other way around.”

“I’ll do my best,” Izuku said, “I promise.”

“Thank you,” Inko said, sounding the most relaxed she had been all night. “Now, you should head back home. All of you.”

“Of course. I love you, Okassan.”

“Love you too, honey.” And with that, the other line was hung up. Only static could be heard. He hung up his phone, noting the small notes of sadness inside him.

Pulling his completely worthless cell phone out of his pocket, he glanced back at Momo. “Do you happen to know where we could get a new one of these?”  
•••  
The visit by the phone store wasn’t as difficult as Izuku was expecting. At first, Izuku wasn’t sure if the guy helping them knew all that much. He was slightly unkempt, with his baggy hoodie and messy orange hair that almost fell into his eyes. Those doubts were shattered once he started spamming facts about Earth tech upon seeing the broken phones. Granted, he did spend a little bit too long freaking out about said phones, marveling at being able to look at the technology and mourning the broken screen. But after telling him about the group’s time limit, he pushed up his glasses and got straight to work. It probably also helped that he was also on a time limit and had to head back to his school too. 

As the six UA students made their way back to the bus station, Izuku noticed Momo pulling Shoto to the back of the group. While he wasn’t the biggest fan of eavesdropping, Izuku’s curiosity was begging to know just why she pulled him back.

“Is everything alright?” She asked. 

“What makes you ask that?” He asked right back.

“It’s just that you didn’t transform during the fight earlier. I know you can do it. You’ve been doing it for longer than I have.”

“Oh, that…” he said. Izuku wanted to look over his shoulder, but that would give away the impression he wasn’t paying attention. But from Shoto’s tone, he could guess the boy had frozen up.

“You see,” he said, “I can’t transform. Haven’t been able to for the past couple months.”

Izuku bit down on his lip to keep himself from gasping. Sure, he might have only known about magic for two days, but he wouldn’t have guessed that someone could just lose an ability like that.

“What happened?” Momo asked.

“I don’t want to get into it,” he replied.

“I understand,” she said. Her footsteps got louder.

“Everything alright?” Izuku asked, doing his best to sound like he hadn’t just heard everything that happened.

“Yeah,” she said, “I was simply curious about something minor.” She cut herself off, as if holding back from saying too much.

“Alright,” he said. 

It turned out the universe was willing to give a small break to Izuku, as the bus station wasn’t too far away. The ride was silent, with everyone mostly on their phones or looking out the window. Izuku hadn’t even noticed how high in the sky the moon was. They were all gonna get back after curfew, weren’t they?

It turns out his guess was right. Looks like he could only catch a break while on the bus. Why else would Aizawa be standing outside the gates?

“You’re all late,” he said.

“It’s a long story…” Ochako sighed.

“Then I’d get started on it.” His powerful glare looked over the whole group, feeling like he was peering straight into their souls. “We don’t have all night.”

You’d think a story would be easier to tell when six people are explaining it, but everyone kept stepping on each others’ metaphorical toes, interruptions and apologies flying everywhere. Yet somehow they managed to squeeze out the events of the night, from the phone call to the witch attack.

Aizawa simply stared at them flabbergasted. He finally let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes. “School hasn’t even started and somehow you six managed to get into trouble.”

‘Well,’ Izuku thought, ‘more like trouble managed to wrangle us up.’

“However,” Aizawa removed his fingers from his face. “Considering the, how do I put this, special circumstances, I suppose you all can get off easy. I’ll just need to review this case with the Headmaster to be sure.”

A wave of relief swept over the area and various high fives were exchanged. Izuku held up his hand to Shoto, who hesitantly hit it.

“Now go back up to your room,” Aizawa said, “and try to stay out of trouble for the rest of the year. And don’t blow up any buildings.” A slight shudder went up his back as the memory likely resurfaced.

“We understand, Sir,” Momo said. They all quickly made their ways back to their rooms, leaving Aizawa standing at the gate.

Back in the comfort of his room, Izuku sent a small text on the new phone (which sadly lacked any earphone jacks). The text was nothing fancy, just a simple ‘I’m safe and love you,’ with a photo of his half of the room for good measure. His mom didn’t take long to respond, her message full of statements of relief and good luck wishes. Izuku expected her to go on and on, but she kept it surprisingly short, finishing it up with a reminder to get some rest. Like he would skip that after the whirlwind of a day he had.

As he placed the phone on the charging stand and plopped back into bed, he looked over at Katsuki. “Hey.”

Katsuki turned over to look at him. “What?”

“Thanks,” Izuku said.

“For what?”

“For saving me back there, even if I wasn’t conscious to see it,” Izuku flashed a warm smile at his childhood friend.

“Of course,” Katsuki flashed his own smile back. He rolled over, facing the other wall.

Izuku turned his head towards the ceiling and mindlessly stared at it. His mind was jumbling with thoughts, the small aches and his body and terror of witches most present. However, those ideas melted away under the joy of magic and warmth he felt from his friends.

Something told him it was all gonna be okay– no, great.  
•••  
Despite all the chaos of the day, Momo found herself unable to sleep. It wasn’t fear keeping her up, but rather concern. Shoto’s words kept looping in her head, as well as his insistence of keeping the details so secret. Sure, she knew very well that Shoto was not the most sociable and open of people. He always preferred to stay on the sidelines during events, keeping to himself. That’s how she met him, after all. Two children are bound to meet on the sideline when they’re both young and surrounded by adults talking treaties and trade deals. Yet as Momo came more into the center stage as she grew older, Shoto stayed behind. Perhaps he just wasn’t the type to socialize. Or perhaps he was protecting himself in some way.

She also knew there was something wrong going on at home. She knew a fair bit about his family. After all, some facts were known by everyone. That was simply part of the price tag of royalty. It was well known that Shoto was the youngest of four siblings– two brothers and a sister– and that his mother wasn’t seen much due to being ill. Yet despite spending many hours with him, there wasn’t much more Momo knew about his family. For instance, she had no clue what kind of illness his mother was battling. Any and all past attempts to learn ended with Shoto becoming eerily quiet. Despite racking her brain for all knowledge, there wasn’t much she knew about Shoto’s family that wasn’t already known by the public. Though, she did know that Shoto had a particularly tense, strained relationship with his father.

What puzzled her the most is how any of this could have resulted in Shoto being unable to transform. Fairies only lost their transformation abilities if someone cursed them. A powerful enough curse could block even the most familiar of skills. Though, that could be it. Shoto could have been cursed, and his father asked him not to talk about it. His father did always pride himself on images of power, after all. Yet as plausible as that explanation was, it somehow felt off. If it was a curse, then surely it could have been removed by now. These types of curses weren’t permanent, after all. A calculated combination of fairy dust and healing spells would remove it. Surely Shoto’s father would have sought out assistance, right?

Momo pulled off the sheets on top of her. If she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, then it did no good laying in bed. She got up and started looking at the collection of books she brought with her. There was always something therapeutic about looking through books, holding the warm leather in her hands. It made her feel calm, like everything would be okay. Her eye caught a book documenting the details of fairy magic. She pulled it off the shelf and made her way over to the desk in her room. Turning on the desk lamp, she began flipping through the pages. Waves of information flashed in front of her as she made her way towards the chapter documenting fairy transformations. Her curiosity rose up once she reached the chapter, her pace picking up. She glossed over all the information on individual transformations, nearly going through the whole chapter before stopping at the end.

“There we go,” she muttered once finding the knowledge on transformation interference. It was a short section with little to say. Most of the information listed was stuff she already knew. Yet it brought up one cause Momo had never heard of.

“A mental roadblock?” she questioned. According to the book, one could lose their ability to transform if they connected their magic with pain and suffering. The idea was certainly an unusual one, but not completely out of the realm of possibility.

Momo closed the book and glanced over at her door. Perhaps that was the cause of Shoto’s predicament? It would certainly explain why he wouldn’t want to talk about it. Something might have happened between him and his father that caused the association.

She wanted to talk with him about this, yet something in her told her to stop. If something bad did happen, she shouldn’t be prying for the answers, lest she risk doing more damage. He would have to come to her. She let out a frustrated sigh. It might take the next three years before he chose to talk about it.

She turned off the lamp and stood up. She slid the book back into its spot back on the shelf. As she crawled back into bed, she didn’t feel much better. Somehow knowing more only made things worse.

Momo let out another sigh, reminding herself that school would be starting tomorrow and it was best to be well-rested for that. She closed her eyes, tucking away the troubling thoughts and instead focusing on nothing.  
•••  
In hindsight, Knut should have seen this coming. Because why would the universe allow him to complete his task, take his pay, and leave these maniacs? That would be too kind.

“Whoever said third time’s the charm clearly hadn’t met you,” Dabi said.

“Does a third failure mean I get to stab him?” Himiko asked, nearly bouncing up from her seat. “I say I get to stab him.” Geez, how was this girl not arrested yet?

“Please don’t stab me,” Knut said, begging on his knees. “Look, I get it, I screwed up three times. I’m sorry! You don’t have to pay me. In fact, I’ll pay you instead! Does that make everything–”

“Shut up,” Tomura said, the dryness of his voice haunting everyone. Himiko was back in her seat, instead twirling around her knife like it was a pen. 

“Thank you.” He looked Knut straight in the eyes. “Now then, let’s review what you were supposed to do. You were supposed to capture a fairy for us. But you failed that level.”

The humiliating defeat resurfaced in Knut’s head. Yeah, not his proudest moment.

“Then, because you apparently saw a very powerful fairy, you were supposed to go back with reinforcements and get him. But you also failed that level.”

The second defeat replaced the first. In his defense, it was a crowd vs crowd fight. When you considered that, the outcome wasn’t all that bad.

“Finally, because we were stupid enough to give you a final chance, you were supposed to locate the fairy and finally get him. And somehow you managed not to screw that up.”

Perhaps things were looking up for Knut?

“Except you left behind a trail for his annoying friends to follow. And they took him back. Therefore, you failed that level as well.”

Nope, things weren’t looking up. That would imply the Ethereals above had pity for him.

“Three failed levels.” Tomura held up three fingers. “Three lost lives.” He lowered his fingers. “Game over.”

Knut felt a large gulp go down his throat.

“Letting you go would be too easy a punishment,” Tomura said, “Instead, you’ll be sticking around to do any dirty work we need. No payment, and if you mess up…” Dark energy sparked around his hands. “We’ll be sure to treat you properly.”

“Uh, yes… of course…” Knut muttered.

“Good.” Tomura’s face twisted into a creepy, spine-chilling smile. “I’m glad we could reach and agreement.”

The whole room was silent before Himiko spoke up.

“So does this mean I don’t get to stab him?” she asked, her voice ringing like a child’s. Which would be cute if she wasn’t talking about violence.

“Is stabbing the only way you know to punish people?” Dabi asked.

“I’ve discovered it’s the most effective way.”

“No, you don’t get to stab him!” Tomura snapped, looking over his shoulder at the blood witch. “Now let’s go before we waste any more time and risk making another stupid decision.” He turned on his heel and made his way towards the door. Dabi followed him, not saying much. Himiko looked at Knut before sighing and joining her partners. As the door closed, Knut was left in the abandoned warehouse.

“Great Dragon,” he said, looking up at the ceiling. “Next time just tell me I’ve screwed up instead of wrapping me up in situations like these.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! One of the canon Specialists actually cameoed in this chapter! If you can find and name him I will give you some internet cookies.
> 
> And with this, we're finally done with my take on episode two! Man that took a while XD But I'm excited to get to the next episode/chapter. I have a few special people I'm ready to introduce.
> 
> If you liked this, consider leaving kudos/a comment/sharing it around! Bye!


	6. Are You Awake, This Stuff is Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The school year officially kicks off, along with all its surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for this chapter being later than normal. Both my beta and I have been busy with many things (both irl and fandom), but let it be known I was very eager to update ASAP.
> 
> The world has feeling really crazy, even more than back in April. But it feels like the good kind of crazy? Like, people are opening their eyes and standing up for what's right. To everyone who's been helping out the Black Lives Matter movement, thank you for all your work.
> 
> A few new faces do get introduced here, some of who get art! Check them out here! https://catlliecal.tumblr.com/post/620281847376642048/straffi-legally-said-i-could-adopt-these-girls-and
> 
> Please enjoy!

The first thing Katsuki noticed upon waking up was how much his back was trying to murder him. It was bursting with pain, and every damned muscle was sore. Like someone had stretched them like fucking taffy pieces. “What the…”

And then it all came back to him. Everything that happened last night. The freaks that had kidnapped Izuku. The fight. The fact that yes, he was a fairy and he grew wings last night. That last one was gonna take some getting used to.

He groaned as he buried his head back in his pillow. He didn’t want to move at all. All he wanted right now was a heating pack and maybe some Advil. Okay, definitely some Advil.

“Morning, Katsuki-chan,” Izuku yawned. Poking his head out from the pillow, Katsuki could see Izuku looking somewhat functional. For such a night owl, he somehow managed not to feel like shit every single morning. Lucky bastard.

“Morning,” he mumbled back.

“What’s wrong?” He asked. Katsuki could tell by the footsteps that he was making his way over to Katsuki’s side of the room. A new weight shook the bed, likely Izuku sitting down. “Had trouble sleeping?”

“No…” he lied.

“Then what did happen?” He nudged Katsuki’s shoulder before gently poking him a few times on the back and Jesus fuck that hurt stop provoking the pain oh fucking God–

Katsuki recklessly pushed himself up, clenching his teeth together as his back and arms screamed in pain. Yep. Bad move to try to sit up. Should have taken that slow.

“I’m sorry!” Izuku said. “You didn’t tell me about your back so I didn’t know and–”

“’s fine,” Katsuki sighed, flopping back down onto his pillow. His back screamed again, but not as painfully this time. 

“Let me get some help!” Before Katsuki could object, Izuku stood up and ran towards the door. It slammed open with a ‘thud’ followed by Izuku cursing himself for being so reckless.

It was a relief to see him back to normal again. He sounded much better than he did last night, and from the small glance Katsuki got of him, it looked like most of the cuts and bruises from last night were 90% healed.

He reached for the covers to pull over his head but just grabbed air. Weird. He was sure they were on him. After all, he didn’t feel cold. In fact, he felt pretty warm. And not the sick kind of warm where you’re burning up. It felt quite natural.

Oh God, he was going delirious from the pain.

Two sets of footsteps came back into the room, stopping at the bed. “See?” Izuku said.

Another set of hands poked his back, right on top of his spine and fuck that fucking spot was the fucking worst and the fucking pain central and–

“Fuck!” he yelled, bolting upright again. His back pulsed with pain. If it was a person, his back was likely ready to strangle him.

Izuku raised his hands up like the cops were about to arrest him. So did the person next to him. He looked at Ochako, who was also holding back laughter.

“Oh, glad to see my pain is enjoyable,” he snarked.

“I’m sorry!” She said, letting out a small burst of laughter. “I just wanted to see how bad it was and maybe get a little fun out of it.”

“Whoop de fucking doo.”

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, lowering her hands. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had wing pains. You tend to forget how painful they can be.”

“Wing pains?” Izuku asked, lowering his hands.

“Pains you get the first few times you use your wings,” she said. “Or when you overwork them. They aren’t that noticeable at first but always show up the next morning.”

“I can clearly see that,” Katsuki said, staring her down. “And feel that.”

“They’ll go away on their own,” she continued. “But most people use numbing cream to help them not feel like their body is trying to murder them. I’ll go get some.”

She bolted out of the room.

“Well,” Izuku muttered, “guess I got this to look forward to, huh?”

“Join me in the pain hole,” Katsuki said. “If I have to suffer, I’m not suffering alone.”

“Good to note.”

“Lucky me!” Ochako said, running back in while holding a blue bottle. “Was right on top of my stuff! Catch!”

She tossed the bottle to Katsuki, who caught it with one hand.

“Need any help?” She asked.

“I can handle myself,” he said, ignoring the pain as he took off his shirt. He flipped opened the lid and began squeezing some out.

“Try not to use too much!” Ochako said.

He looked her in the eye as he squeezed a large blob onto his hand.

“…and that’s probably revenge for provoking your back,” she sighed.

Putting the stuff on wasn’t impossible, but certainly difficult for any single person to do. Sure, he probably could have gotten the job done faster if he had asked for help. But the pain had left him in the kind of mood where you wanna fight the whole world with only your bare fists. Not the best mood to be in when asking for help.

“Thanks,” he said upon finishing. He tossed the bottle back to her. The stuff really did work. It acted fast, numbing everything upon touch. Granted, he couldn’t feel his hands now, but who needed that when you’re finally free from back pain that was ready to murder you. Nothing held a candle to it. Not even Shekel O’Neal and his fucking icyhot pads.

Though, the strange heat wasn’t going away. At least he wasn't delirious from pain.

“Glad to help!” Ochako said. “Though, since I’m up, I should probably get ready for breakfast. Bad idea to start the first day of classes on an empty stomach.”

Ah, right. There was school today. Magic school. In another dimension. That he and Izuku were attending.

How did his life become so weird?

There was a knock on the main door to the dorms.

“I’ll get it,” Kyoka said. She walked out of her room and opened the door. “Hello?” She asked.

“Hello there,” a familiar voice said. That Aizawa guy was back.

“We’re not in trouble for last night, are we?” Kyoka asked, her voice cracking.

“By some miracle you’re not,” Aizawa sighed. “Why the headmaster let you kids off the hook I’ll never know.”

“Oh thank the Dragon,” Kyoka sighed. “So why are you here?”

“Apparently Nedzu wanted to see our…” he cleared his throat, “special students again, and sent me to go remind them.”

“And that’s us,” Izuku said, sitting down on his bed. 

“That’s right kid,” Aizawa said, making Izuku jump a little despite them being two rooms apart. “Now hurry up and get dressed. Make sure your friend does the same. Don’t know how long Nedzu’s going to keep you, and I doubt either of you want to miss breakfast.”

“Of course!” Izuku said. “We’ll be both down in a jiffy!”

“Good,” Aizawa said. The front door closed again.

“Wow,” Kyoka said, walking up to the trio and leaning on the door frame. “School hasn’t even started and you’re already seeing the headmaster for the second time?”

“And a good morning to you, too,” Katsuki mumbled.

“I see the patient is feeling better?” She asked. “He’s not yelling as much, which is good.”

“Don’t you also have to get ready?” Katsuki asked.

“I do,” she said.

“Then why the Hell are you hanging around my room?”

“No reason,” she said. “See you both at breakfast.” She turned on her heel and walked back to her room.

“I can’t believe it,” Izuku said, “I found someone with enough sass and snark to rival Katsuki-chan.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Katsuki asked, looking Izuku right in the eye.

“It means that the next three years are gonna be very interesting,” he said, standing up. “Now come on. Probably not a good idea to keep the headmaster waiting. Plus, I’m not completely sure that Aizawa’s not standing outside the door awkwardly waiting for us.”

Well, this was certainly one way to start a day. At least Katsuki didn’t have to spend the day fighting fucking back pain.  
•••  
The Headmaster’s room was just as cozy as the last time Izuku was in it. It looked even more cozy as the golden morning rays of sunlight shone in through the large wall of windows.

“It’s good to see you boys again,” Nedzu said. He was sitting in a chair that looked way too big for him, as there was at least half a meter of empty space between the Headmaster’s head and the top of the chair.

“It’s good to see you again too, uh, Sir,” Izuku said. There was still something confusing about talking to someone who looked like a mouse yet ran the best known school. Cut him some slack, it was only his second day living in a world with magic.

“The rings arrived,” Nedzu pushed a small wooden box in front of him, standing on his hind legs to do so. Izuku slowly approached the box while Katsuki casually walked up to it.

Izuku simply stared at the box in front of him. Was it enchanted? Did he need a spell to open it? Were the array of decorative cravings actually an incantation to protect it? How could–?

Katsuki opened up the lid of the box.

Huh. Apparently it was a normal, average box.

Izuku and Katsuki looked inside. Tucked into plush, velvet fabric were two rings. The silver bands had tiny etchings on them. Nestled in the center of each ring was a gemstone that shone in the light. They almost seemed to spark with life. Perhaps they held the strengthened translation spell?

“Try them on, boys,” Nedzu said.

Before Izuku could grab his ring, Katsuki picked both of them up. And then before Izuku could ask what was going on, Katsuki got down on one knee and held both of them up.

“Izuku,” he began, “Will you join me in this crazy-ass ride we’re about to go through as we attend an actual magic school?”

Izuku gasped. He folded his hands close to his lips, his head bobbing up and down. “Katsuki-chan! I’d thought you'd never ask!”

“Is that a yes?”

“Of course it is!” Izuku grabbed one of the rings while holding back his laughter. Katsuki was also trying to hold back his own.

Izuku expected the ring to be cold. Yet when he slid it on, it wasn’t. It was warm, but not the kind of warm that happens when you hold metal for too long and it’s all sweaty and gross. It was the good kind, a familiar kind. The gemstone was also warm. Once the ring was in place, the gem began to slightly vibrate. Izuku felt a wave of energy gently course through his veins, especially around his throat. A little ‘pop’ rang in his ears. The wave of magic eventually died down, but he could still feel it running through him.

“As long as you two have those rings,” Nedzu said, “then you should be able to understand everything. If you by any chance happen to lose them, I want you to come to me right away. We’ll find a solution.”

“Of course,” Izuku said.

Nedzu hopped out of his chair and crouched behind his desk. Judging by the sounds, he had opened up a drawer and was rummaging through it. It wasn’t too long before the drawer slid shut again. He walked over to Katsuki’s side holding what appeared to be fashion tape in his hands, a pencil behind his ear, and a clipboard with his tail.

“Now then,” he said while stretching out the measuring tape, “a little birdie told me about your adventure yesterday.

Oh right. Last night. The fact Izuku could now check off “getting knocked out cold in an alley” from his list of things that had happened to him but really shouldn’t have.

“About that,” Izuku asked, as he watched the headmaster seemingly begin to take Katsuki’s measurements. “Why didn’t you punish us? I mean, I’m really grateful you didn’t! But I have to wonder why.”

“Why?” Nedzu asked, pulling the pencil out from behind his ear to record some information. “It’s quite simple, really. You weren’t responsible for being late.”

“Huh?” Katsuki asked. Though, really, he could have asked that from confusion at the headmaster’s response or the headmaster yanking his left arm down closer to the ground.

“You see,” Nedzu continued, “no one chooses to get kidnapped. That would be very silly if you did. And you all tried to get out of there as soon as possible. Then you had to reassure your mother that you were safe and establish a new communication line with her. You all responded appropriately to the situation at hand and didn’t dilly dally or make any silly mistakes.” He let go of Katsuki’s arm and walked over to the other side, proceeding to yank down his right arm. “It would be quite foolish to punish something like that.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way,” Izuku said.

“Most people don’t,” Nedzu said. “They simply focus too much on what went wrong. It’s good to learn from one’s mistakes, but it’s also important to congratulate yourself for the things you’ve done right.” He let go of Katsuki’s arm, moving his measurements to the hips and such.

“Now does this mean you can come back to school late whenever you please? Of course not. After all, it’s my job to keep all the students here safe, and I can’t do that if you’re off somewhere only the Dragon knows.”

“What is the Dragon?” Katsuki asked. “Both you and Ochako referred to it like this all-knowing being.”

“You’re on the right track, my boy,” Nedzu said, writing down something on his clipboard. He then turned to Izuku and continued his measurements. “The Great Dragon created the universe. Every realm and planet was shaped by Their hands. Even Earth. Speaking of Earth, I think you made your own version of the Dragon. You’ve called this being God. Well, at least some of you do. I’ve only started my investigation into Earth and I’m already both impressed and confused by your assortment of religions.”

“Wow,” Izuku sighed. 

“But we’re not here to talk about that,” Nedzu said. “Now if my little bird is correct, apparently one of you managed to transform for the first time last night.”

“I could have done with less sparkles,” Katsuki said.

“Regardless of the amount of sparkles involved,” Nedzu said, “I’m proud of you. It takes quite a bit of time and effort to transform. To do so on your first day here is impressive.”

A proud smile appeared on Katsuki’s face. 

“Though don’t expect the next few times to go smoothly,” Nedzu said, yanking down Izuku’s left arm closer to the ground, which was quite an odd feeling. “Just because you’ve unlocked a natural flow of magic through your body doesn’t mean everything will be a snap. You’ll need to learn how to do it on command and when you’re not in high-intensity situations. Though, speaking of early transformations, how’s your back? Any pains? Anything else unusual?”

“Woke up with my back trying to kill me,” Katsuki said. “Luckily Ochako had something to calm it down.”

“That’s good!” Nedzu said, letting go of Izuku’s arm. He braced himself as his right arm was pulled closer to the ground. “If it gets any worse, make sure to stop by the nurse.”

“Speaking of the nurse,” Katsuki said, “where exactly are they? I’m not exactly the kind of person that likes running around feeling like I have a fever.”

“I am aware of your current temperature,” Nedzu said. “Not sure the nurse can help you out.”

“Isn’t that their job?” Katsuki asked.

“A nurse is supposed to help out sick students, yes.” Nedzu said, letting go of Izuku’s arm to write something down. “But a nurse can’t help you out if you aren’t sick.”

“Eh?”

“It may be hard to understand, but it’s very likely that what you’re experiencing now is completely normal. Of course, that is very much dependent on if you’re a fire or explosion magi. Do you know what elemental type you are?”

“I’m gonna be honest, you lost me halfway through that sentence.”

Nedzu placed his paw on his chin. “Just let me finish this up. Then I’ll write you the nurse’s location. She should be able to do an elemental test and see if you’re either of those two categories. And if you’re not, then she’ll take care of that fever.”

“Um, Headmaster, Sir?” Izuku asked.

“What is it?”

“I have to ask… what are you doing with that tape?”

“Oh!” Nedzu stretched out the tape. “Just getting your measurements for your uniforms! You’ll need them next week!”

“Couldn’t you just ask us what our sizes are?” Katsuki asked.

“I could, but that would be assuming our measurement systems are exactly the same. Whatever size you are back home might not be your size here. And no one likes wearing a too tight or too loose uniform while waiting for the proper one to arrive.”

“I suppose so,” Izuku said as he felt the measuring tape around his hips.

“Besides, I’m almost done,” And true to his word, he really was. He only wrapped the tape around Izuku a few more times before writing some final things down and returning to his desk.

“Now take these,” he placed down the measuring tools, pulled open a small drawer, and grabbed two pieces of paper. “After all, you can't attend school if you don’t know what classes you’re going to.”

Izuku grabbed his schedule while Katsuki grabbed his. Looking down at the paper, it wasn’t too different from classes back home. There was still a mathematics class, a language class, and a history class. But there were some completely new classes as well. In place of a science was a potions class. There was a class dedicated to metamorphosis, and another dedicated to flight. In place of physical education was a combat class. Finally there was a class about understanding magic and how it operates. Right below each class name was a room number. Except for flight, which simply stated to meet in the back lawn.

Right. No big deal. It was just school. Except with magic and wings being up at the grading table.

Okay, maybe it was a big deal.

“That should be everything, boys,” Nedzu said. “If you ever need any kind of help, feel free to come into my office. Now, I don’t want to keep you back from breakfast. Be a shame to miss that. Especially since the school makes excellent scones. Plus, it’s never a good idea to attend class on an empty stomach, is it?”

“It’s not,” Izuku said.

“Exactly,” Nedzu replied. “So go and get some.”  
•••  
Even with classmates that somehow got a kick out of teasing Izuku, he always liked school. He liked learning new things. He liked solving problems. That didn’t make every class easy, but not even a hard class could slow Izuku down. Hard classes were simply games, and his otousan taught Izuku how to crack the code to just about every game on Earth. He knew the tricks, the trades, the secrets.

So it was quite alarming to him that he felt like he was playing three-dimensional chess before he had completed his first full day.

Mathematics was still the same as the math he knew back home, which was honestly a huge relief to Izuku. Though, it did get his mind turning about whether or not Earth was ever linked with this dimension. It would explain the same number system and concepts.

The first bumps in the road showed up during language and history. Even with the translation spell, there were piles of rules and exceptions to learn in the language class. And it wasn’t like there was a simple Japanese to Magian book just laying around. The teacher– a man named Yamada who for some reason wore sunglasses indoors– was, thankfully, understanding, slipping both Izuku and Katsuki a basic grammar guide along with the promise of an open door.

History was in a similar boat. Compared to just about everyone else, Izuku was thousands of meters behind in terms of knowledge. Every detail was new to him. Not like that was a bad thing, though. If anything, it only motivated him to learn everything and more about the past of this strange new dimension. Besides. It might even make him feel more comfortable here.

The more foreign the class, the more difficult it became. Even though there was no actual flying on the first day of Flight, Izuku could not calm his nerves. He had no idea how to transform, and that was only the first hurdle. There was still the task of actually flying, something he had no experience doing and no clue where to start. On the bright side, he did notice Shoto’s face in the class crowd. It was nice knowing he had a familiar face with him.

Metamorphosis was a strange class to put it lightly. Apparently it was supposed to be a practical class, helping magic to naturally flow through the body and teaching useful spells. Though, that was the last thing Izuku would have guessed it was about when the teacher walked in as a cat before shifting back to normal. For some reason, shapeshifting was considered a useful and needed spell. Which totally wasn’t an alarming thought. What could be alarming about turning into another species? Nope! Nothing!

Okay, he was very worried about that. Best not to think about the dangers of shapeshifting.

Combat training could best be described as Physical Education on steroids. This class wasn’t just about staying fit and in shape. It was about… well, exactly what the class was named. Training for combat. Surprisingly, this was the only class where Izuku found himself excelling above the rest. Just about everyone else in his class struggled in the basic exercises the teacher had them do. The only other person able to keep up was Katsuki. Which, all things considered, was fair. He was always the better of the two at martial arts back home.

The class about understanding magic was less of a class and more like a private tutoring session. It was just him, Katsuki, and Aizawa tucked away in a corner of the school’s library– which was just chock full of books. Admittedly, it was kinda awkward having a class dedicated to catching Katsuki and him up to the same speed as everyone else. Yet at the same time, it was comforting.

All that comfort vanished as he made his way to Potions. And it certainly wasn’t helping that his brain kept looping the story of last year’s lab explosion over and over and over. As he finally walked in the doors and sat down at a random desk, the looping story was overpowered by fear and doubt. What if he made a similar mistake? What if he hurt someone by mixing the wrong ingredients together? What if–?

“Hey, you okay?” An unfamiliar voice asked. Izuku turned to the previously empty chair neck to him discovering someone had slipped into it. She had long, olive green hair and wore a navy leather jacket.

“Kinda?” He said. “Just nervous.”

“You’ll be fine,” the girl said. “Just as long as you’re not attempting an explosion potion or something else complicated. Honestly you’d probably do more damage making it wrong than firing off a successful vial at someone.”

“Eh?”

“Yeah, kinda crazy. Potions like that one are super picky about having the right measurements for ingredients and such. Lots of times if you don’t heat them at a really specific temperature or mix them hard enough, they end up exploding and burning everything in the area! Well, everything they didn’t destroy. And storing them is a pain. If it’s too cold or too hot, you’ll either find them imploding on themselves or having long delays. And let me tell you, it’s never a good idea to be on the receiving end of a delayed potion reaction. That shit hurts.”

Was this girl crazy? She had to be. What other explanation was there for her having such a straight face talking about dangerous chemicals exploding all over the place?! And just how many of these complicated death liquids were there? Would they be making them in class? Oh, God, he’d definitely hurt someone by accident then, which was the last thing he wanted. Surely there was something he could do to avoid such a disaster and–

“Crap did I break you?” She said. “I think I broke you.”

“What.”

“I think I broke you. How else could you be muttering so fast?!”

Oh. He had been thinking out loud.

“It’s fine!” He said, holding his arms up. “It’s just a nervous habit of mine, that’s all!”

“Oh that’s a relief,” she sighed. “Though, I probably didn’t make you feel not nervous, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you really didn’t help out at all.”

“I kinda forget my grandmother taught me a lot of things most people don’t know.” She let out a small chuckle. “Gotta say, it is kinda weird you didn’t even know about the dangerous kind of potions. Like it’s your first time really hearing about them.”

“That’s because it would be.” He scratched the back of his neck.

She tapped her finger on her chin, and he could see her tongue slightly sticking out. “You wouldn't happen to be one of the special Earth students, would you?”

“People already know about that?”

“Maybe. I just happen to eavesdrop a lot. Overheard some of the teachers talking about two kids who needed help ‘cause they grew up on Earth. I think I caught your name? The teachers mentioned an ‘Izuku’ and a ‘Katsuki’ but I don’t know which one you are.”

“Izuku,” he said, shoving aside the still present awkwardness of the name linguistics. “I’m Izuku.”

“Selina,” she said.

The bell rang right when the teacher walked into the room. Izuku noticed the red frames resting on her face. Perhaps this teacher was the same one who almost checked him in yesterday?

“I hope everyone found someone good to sit next to,” she said, arriving at her desk. “Because you’ll be working with them on projects for the rest of the year.”

Izuku snuck a small glance at Selina before turning back to the teacher. She did seem to know her stuff. Maybe this class wouldn’t end in literal fire.  
•••  
It was midway through the week and Izuku’s fears still hadn’t calmed down yet. Even with the extra help he was getting, he couldn’t help but feel like he was falling behind. Granted, his current lack of magical skill was justified, but that didn't make the current situation any easier to swallow.

Right now he was sitting in the common room, reviewing a textbook to try to get a grip on Metamorphosis. After all, there was nothing he could do about flight, and the labs were closed off to first years once classes were over. And there wasn’t too much to be worried about with Mathematics, Language, and History. Best to tackle the large hurdles first.

The teacher, who was surprisingly lax, had a very simple first week assignment: show off what you knew. Every student was to practice and perfect the most complicated shape shifting spell they knew and present it on Friday. Which was great for everyone but Izuku.

He placed the book on the couch, taking one more glance at the words before closing his eyes. The current page described a simple color change spell that was effective on hair. The steps were simple enough. Close your eyes, picture the color you want, and channel the energy to your hair. 

Taking a deep breath in, he pictured himself with fiery orange hair. He then reached and reached for his magic, hoping to get to flowing enough to channel it. Yet no matter how hard he tried, nothing would budge. There was no spark, no energy flowing through his veins. Not even a small tingle. The magic wouldn’t work.

He opened his eyes and leaned forward, reaching for his phone. Pulling up the camera, he looked at the screen to see he still sported the same forest green locks. Sighing, he leaned back on the couch and let the phone fall out of his hands. He then let out a large, frustrated groan. He had been able to use magic before! Granted, it was never stable, but he had still used it! So where was it now? Where was the winx that he had?

One of the dorm room doors opened up and Ochako walked through. Well, more like hopped. She was slipping on one of her tennis shoes and there was a pamphlet in her mouth. She yanked the shoe on and began to wobble. Izuku rushed up and grabbed her arms before she could fall over.

“You okay?” He asked.

She stood up and took the pamphlet out of her mouth. “Yeah. Just tried to do a little too much at once.”

Izuku’s gaze drifted over to the pamphlet, which had a variety of bright colors on it. “What’s that about?” He asked, pointing at it.

“Just an overview of businesses in the city,” she said. “I used to have a part-time job back home, so I thought it would be smart to get one here. Ya know, so I have the extra cash if I need it.”

“That’s really smart!” He said. “Is there any place in particular you’re hoping to work at?”

“Not really,” she said, fiddling with her pamphlet. “Just a place with flexible hours and decent pay. I’m not too picky.” She looked over at the couch and squinted at the textbook. “So what are you up to?”

“At the moment? Currently struggling to do any kind of magic.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up too hard,” she said. “A lot of people here find themselves struggling and pushing their limits. Just because they grew up knowing about magic doesn’t make everyone an expert.”

“I guess so…” Izuku sighed.

“Tell ya what,” she said. “After dinner, I’ll help you study.”

“Really?”

“Really. It’s the least I can do.”

“Ochako-san, you’re a lifesaver!”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she blushed. She looked at the clock on the wall and panic swept across her face. “I gotta go! I don’t wanna miss my bus!”

“Oh! Right! Sorry to keep you!”

“Don’t worry about it!” She said while running to the door, quickly opening it. She would have slammed it closed if someone else hadn’t caught it. The door slowly opened back up as Katsuki entered.

“What was that about?” He asked, slowly closing the door behind him.

“She’s going job hunting and almost missed her ride,” Izuku said. 

“Huh,” he said while walking over. He sat down on the arm of the couch, looking over everything scattered out. “Not even a week in and I see you’re cracking down hard.”

Izuku sat back on the couch, leaning his head onto Katsuki’s very warm lap. Apparently this was Katsuki’s new normal, as his elemental test confirmed him as an explosion magi. Not that Izuku had any complaints. It was nice to have a friend that felt like a walking heater. “I mean, not like I have much of a choice. I gotta catch up to everyone else somehow.”

“Don’t wanna get left behind in the dust, huh? I like it. Nice to see you with a strong backbone.”

“I guess that’s one way to put it.”

“Should probably push the pedal to the metal myself,” Katsuki said. “I’m not gonna let myself fall behind you.”

“Deal!” Izuku said. Suddenly the door opened back up.

“Excuse me,” Momo said, walking in. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all,” Izuku said.

“Thank goodness,” Momo said. “I hope you don’t mind if I bring someone in with me. We’re just working on a project together.”

“Don’t really mind,” Katsuki said.

“That’s good to hear,” Momo said. She turned towards the hallway. “You can come in now.”

Momo stepped to the side and a girl walked in. Her golden hair hung in ringlets around her chest. She wore a garnet red off shoulder shirt and a black and white plaid skirt. She wore brown, lace up heel boots and several bracelets. She also had on a pair of glasses the same color as her shirt.

“So these are the roommates you were telling me about,” she said, looking over Izuku and Katsuki. “The ones who grew up on Earth.”

Who knew growing up on Earth was such a special thing? Then again, Izuku figured, it probably was his and Katsuki’s most defining feature here.

Her eyes hyper focused on one of Izuku’s hands. She made her way over, walking around the coffee table and stopping right next to him. “Let me see.” she said.

“See what?”

“The ring. I want to know what kind of gem was used.”

“Okay…” Izuku stood up and held his hand out. The girl gently grabbed his hand and raised it up.

“It’s a small cut used, but you can still see small flakes of white and black mixed in with the royal blue,” she stated. She gently tapped the stone with her nails, which were painted rose gold. “From what I can tell, the stone is fairly hard, yet not particularly sturdy if you strike at a certain angle. Though, that shouldn’t be too much a problem.” She let go of his hand. “Looks like a common sodalite. A good choice for a lot of spells relating to the mind. They’re most commonly used with passive spells, like individualized translation spells. Which is likely what it’s being used for right now.”

“Yeah… you’re right.” he said, taken aback by the girl’s observation. How did she get so much from such a small amount? “You really seem to know your stuff.”

“Well of course,” she said, casually flipping back a few curls. “It’s only natural I’d know so much.”

“Dia, you know you could phrase it less bluntly, right?” Momo sighed.

“You call it blunt, I call it direct,” she said. “On the off chance you haven’t already heard of me, let me introduce myself. I’m Princess Diaspro of the realm Kosmima, and the fairy of gemstones. Pleased to meet you.”

“‘Dia’ must be short for ‘Diaspro,’ right?” Izuku guessed.

“That’s right. But only Momo gets to call me that. If anyone else tries I’ll have them executed.”

Izuku took a few steps back.

“I’m just kidding about the execution part,” Diaspro said.

“Right…” Izuku said.

“Just how many royals are in this school?” Katsuki asked.

“If I’m remembering right,” Momo placed her hand on her chin, “five in total.”

“This place must really be the best if that many royals are attending…” Izuku said. His nerves began to bubble back up. He quickly pushed them back down. Nothing would get done if he spent too much time worrying.

“Shiketsu has a few as well, though mostly princes,” Diaspro said. “Tartarus doesn’t tend to have many royal students, since most royal magi are discouraged from being witches,” She pushed back up her glasses. “Anyways, I didn’t come here to chitchat. It was nice to meet you both.” She walked over to Momo’s room, quietly opening and closing the door.

“Sorry if she came off as harsh,” Momo said. “I know she doesn’t give the most… graceful of first impressions, but she’s not a bad person.”

“It’s fine!” Izuku said. “She wasn’t harsh. Just very… confident. Yeah. Confident.”

Momo let out a small chuckle. “I shouldn’t keep her waiting. I'll meet you both at dinner.” She made her way towards her room before slipping in.

Izuku looked over at Katsuki, who was staring at Momo’s door. “Katsuki-chan? Something wrong?”

“I just wanna know why that Diaspro girl sounds like Ariana Grande,” he said. “They sound so alike you think they’re the same person.”

“Huh, didn’t notice. Then again, we don’t have a lot of overlap in our music. So I’m not too surprised.”

“Remind me later to play one of her albums for you,” Katsuki said, walking back to his room. “Introduce you to what good music sounds like.”  
•••  
Despite the large breakfast buffet of food, nothing seemed appealing to Izuku. It was Friday morning, and the only thing he felt in his stomach was a large cluster of nerves. Yet he knew he had to eat something. Making his way down the serving table, he mindlessly grabbed some fruit and some toast. He walked over to where Ochako was sitting and slipped next to her.

“Just relax,” she said, patting him on the back. “You’ll be fine.”

“Ochako-san…” he began. She just raised an eyebrow at him.“Ochako…” he corrected himself. “You saw how badly it went. I couldn't get anything to budge.”

“Maybe it will all click in class?” She suggested. “After all, practice makes perfect. Maybe you did enough practicing that it will work next time.”

“I hope so,” he said before taking a bite into his toast. It was just a simple piece of bread with nothing on it, but he felt his appetite resurface.

“Relax, dude,” Kyoka said, who was sitting across from him. “It’s the first week. You’re allowed to make mistakes. They’re pretty much expected.”

“That might be it now,” he said, “but what about after this week? And the week after that? What happens then? I gotta catch up to everyone as soon as possible. I need to prove that I can be on the same ground as everyone else.”

“You’re on the right track,” Kyoka said. “With that drive you have, I don’t see you staying behind for long.”

“Thanks,” His nerves began to calm down a little bit. Oh, they were still there, but not as strong.

The sounds of clapping echoed throughout the dining hall. The students began looking around, murmuring to one another until another round of claps echoed again. Slowly heads turned towards the teacher’s table at the front of the room, which Nedzu was currently standing on top of. Aizawa stood in front of him, his hands together. 

“Thank you for your attention, students. I hope you all have been enjoying your week here so far.”

“Oi, what’s going on?” Katsuki whispered, slipping next to Kyoka.

“Some kind of announcement,” Ochako whispered back.

“Okay, I knew that, but what’s he announcing?”

“Would you both be quiet?” Kyoka whispered. “He’ll tell you if you listen.”

“If you didn’t already know, it is tradition here at UA to host a dance at the end of the first week,” Nedzu continued. “Consider it our way of celebrating your first step of the new school year. Well, it just so happens that tonight is that very dance!”

The dining hall filled with chatter. Clusters of students were cheering at the announcement of a dance, the chance to relax and just have fun.

Except for Izuku. His nerves returned to normal, no help from classes needed.

“Ah, I’m excited!” Ochako said. Joy radiated from her. “I haven’t been to a dance in a while. What about you, Izuku?”

“To be honest, I’ve never really been to one,” he said. “Unless you count the dances the dance club would host during the school’s cultural festival.”

“That’s being generous,” Katsuki said. “Besides, you never went to those. We were both too busy looking at other booths.”

“True,” Izuku said.

Aizawa clapped again, and the dining hall returned to a hush. “You can be excited after the headmaster finished speaking.”

“Thank you, Shota,” Nedzu said. “As I was saying, tonight is our dance. Students from both Shiketsu and Tartarus will be welcomed to join, so we encourage you to mingle with the students from the other schools as well.”

“On that note,” Aizawa said, “Anyone caught using love potions or charms will be given detention on the spot. They are strictly forbidden and are a pain to undo.” He shuddered, as if he was recalling a bad memory.

“The dance will start at seven tonight,” Nedzu said. “And students are allowed to help set up the ballroom. Feel free to dress up, but there’s no need to pull out the ballgowns and such. Just relax and have fun! That is all.” He jumped off the table and out of Izuku’s sight.

“A dance, huh?” Kyoka said. “Sounds like fun. Plus it’s a good chance to meet the students from the other schools.”

“I just hope we don’t run into those witches again,” Izuku said. He felt a chill roll down his spine as the memories came back.

“Maybe we’ll be lucky and find out they don’t attend Tartarus?” Ochako shrugged, voice cracking on the last word. “The dance will be a crowded event, though. They surely wouldn’t strike with so many people around.”

“If they have any brain cells they won’t,” Kyoka said.

“Even if they do show up, we’ll embarrass them so hard they’ll regret showing their sorry asses,” Katsuki said.

“Thanks,” Izuku said, “There is one more thing on my mind.”

“What is it?” Ochako asked.

“Well, it’s just that from the way Nedzu was talking, it almost sounded like there aren’t any classes tomorrow.”

“Because there aren’t any,” Ochako said.

No Saturday classes? “Really?”

“Yeah,” Kyoka said. 

“This place really is magic,” Katsuki said, starstruck.

“Let me guess. You had them back on Earth?” Kyoka said.

“Yep,” Izuku said. “Let’s just say I’m not gonna miss them at all.”  
•••  
The halls of Shiketsu could best be described as simple. Which wasn’t too surprising when you considered the building was a hundred years old structure with many restoration projects. Word on the street was that the old headmaster really loved the building’s look and never changed it. The new headmaster has yet to find a remodeling reason that would satisfy the old headmaster.

Yet there wasn’t much time to observe the walls and pillars of the building. Not when you were a student late for breakfast. Missing breakfast at Shiketsu was a deadly mistake. You’d have to pray to the Ethereals that all your morning classes would be non-combatant ones or else you were toast.

He had just turned the corner when the speakers rang out with static. It fizzled out before the headmaster’s voice ran out loud and clear.

“I hope everyone had a good first week here! And I hope you’re enjoying the wonderful meals from the staff as well!”

An empty stomach echoed through the hall at the mention of food.

“If you are not aware, UA will be hosting a dance for their students tonight at seven. As per tradition, their doors will be open to students from both Tartarus and Shiketsu, which means you are all more than welcome to attend.”

The speakers went silent for a little bit, likely to avoid being drowned out by cheers in the dining hall. But in a nearly empty hallway, the silence awkwardly hung in the air.

“I bet you are all quite excited! Our school will be offering rides over to UA’s campus and back. They’ll leave for the dance at six forty-five and leave for the school at ten fifteen. The drivers will wait for any stray students, but please try not to keep them waiting.”

Yeah, he could do that. Just because he was late for breakfast didn’t mean he’d be late for the rides.

“Most importantly, just have fun tonight! This isn’t some fancy, stiff ball. Come as you like and relax!”

He sighed with relief. Formal dances were not his thing. Sure, he could look and act the part, but that just drained the fun out of everything.

“That’s everything. Now go out there and put your full heart into your training!”

The speakers clicked off, and he started running again. Yet this time he ran a little faster, the promise of a good night putting a little spunk into every step. 

Tonight was a chance to make a big memory and take a new step forward. Which is what Eijiro planned to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I officially wrap things up, I wanna say something.
> 
> When I began planning this, my main goal was to discover just what the My Hero cast do/be like if they lived in a world like the one presented in Winx canon. I wanted to explore how they would be different from their canon counterparts, how relationships would change, etc etc. I never intended this fic to be the two sets of cast members interacting with one another. That does sound fun, but that’s not the story I aim to share here. In addition, I want anyone to be able to enjoy this fanfic, regardless of their knowledge of Winx. I want someone who only knows the name to be able to enjoy as much as the person who watched the show in their childhood. I want someone who only watched the show in their childhood to be able to enjoy as much as the person who has been keeping up with all eight seasons. Having the cast members interact would muddy that ability. I don’t want that. 
> 
> Now you may be asking “Cal! If your goal is not the cast members interacting with each other, then why did you introduce two canon Winx characters?”
> 
> Well, that’s where things get a little bit more… complicated, I guess? When it comes to Diaspro and Selina, I wanted to include them because I wanted to explore more with their characters. They both have great bases, but I feel like both were underutilized in canon. So I took the building blocks from canon and then adjusted them not only to fit within the new canon I created but also to expand them and flesh them out. I do plan to touch upon their storylines, but those will be more side plots than anything else. I should also clarify that while these two will appear fairly often, they’re intended to be supporting cast members. So while they may hang out with the main cast members, they’re not major players themselves. 
> 
> On that note, you may notice that some other Winx characters have either made appearances (Knut the ogre) or been referred to (Stella). Most of the Winx cast actually still exists in this story. Depending on the role they took in canon, they may appear in this fanfic. Minor characters like Knut may appear to help advance the plot, but major characters like the Winx and the Trix have had their lives altered to some degree to keep them from potentially stealing the spotlight. The only characters that have been completely erased from canon are Bloom and Daphne. Including Bloom in this story would create a huge wrinkle, as Izuku has basically taken over her role. The same applies to Daphne, who has had her role replied by Nana. The Specialists from canon still exist and even attend Red Fountain/Shiketsu, but won’t appear that much outside of possible scenes there. (Not sure where to mention this part, but some characters were practically impossible to erase. Stella, Aisha/Layla, and Sky are all royalty, meaning erasing them would create a weird hole in the universe. So they get to stay to help keep things in check)
> 
> Basically, while this story is focusing on our heroes-turned-fairies, some of the Winx cast will appear, but never more than a supporting role. 
> 
> With all that said, I hope you enjoyed this update! Please share and leave a comment if you did!


	7. With The Magic of Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the school-wide dance! Which naturally means awkward first meetings with new people, plus plenty of awkward situations with familiar people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY FUCK WE'RE BACK
> 
> Yes, it's finally here. After a fuck ton of therapy, an annoying-ass writer's block, school starting again for my beta, depression kicking both of us in the butt, one live-action reboot that took a few years off my life (Straffi. Young. I'm coming for your spleens), and a bunch of real world bullshit, it's finally. Fucking. Here. I wish I could have come back with something more exciting and grand than a dance, but hey. It is what it is.
> 
> It does feel a bit funny publishing writing from June-July 2020 in February 2021, but I still think it's good content! Especially when it comes to both groups (Winx and Trix) having their moments together. I love having these dorks bounce off one another.
> 
> There is a slow dance in this chapter! You don't need to listen to music to read it, but you're curious as to the music used in it, pull up "Solo Noi" by Elisa Rosselli on YouTube. I'll leave a link to it to make it easier.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKSczj3DJbU
> 
> There really isn't that much else to say here. Fate was a thing, and while I managed to get a couple of ideas here and there out of it, we would have been better off without it. I feel kinda stupid to admit that was my first MA-rated TV show I ever watched, which makes it even weirder when you remember it's a Winx adaptation. Straffi. For the love of God, just let this franchise end already. We as a fandom cannot take the pain.
> 
> There's a Discord server for the OT3 if you're interested in joining! I occasionally reveal some stuff about the story there, as well as scream and goof around with others. It's a great time, I promise.  
> https://discord.gg/tZABsUV
> 
> Now we've waited enough. On with the show!

All alone in her room, Ochako flipped open her phone, clicking the same familiar numbers. Pulling the phone up to her ear, she listened closely as she waited for the other end to pick up. 

“Hello?” The other side said.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Ah! It’s my second sun! How are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine, Dad,” she chuckled. “School’s been great, really! It’s everything I dreamed of and more.”

“I knew you would amaze them all,” he said.

“It’s only been one week. I haven’t done anything anyone would notice.”

“Nonsense,” he said. “You’re blowing them all away like you always do!”

“I mean,” Ochako began, fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt. “There are lots of people here who are way better than me. I’m pretty sure most of the people here have seen a magical tutor at least once before. They got that up on me.”

“You’re getting caught in the details,” her father said. A door opened up on her father’s end, followed by a muffled voice. Ochako tried to make out what the new person said, but all the words blurred with one another. For some reason, the other person sounded like they were speaking through a trombone.

“Right,” her father said. “I’m so sorry to leave you so soon, but they need me down at the work site. Apparently Pollux just broke his arm and they need someone to head down in order to meet the deadline.”

“Of course,” Ochako said, pushing down any regret she felt. She couldn’t blame her dad for heading back in. Dragon knew they could use the extra money from extra hours. That didn’t make the shortened phone call any less frustrating.

“Call us back when you get the chance,” her dad said. “Love you, starlight.”

“Love you too, Dad.” Before she could pull away the phone, she heard a ‘beep’ from the other end, followed by silence. She pulled away from her face, mindlessly looking at it before closing it back up. She walked into the common room and sat down on the couch before fiddling with it.

Not long after she shut the phone, the main door opened up. She quickly tucked away her phone out of sight. She didn’t suspect that her roommates would judge her for having such an old model, but apparently old habits died hard.

Izuku opened up the door, quietly slipping in before closing it. He leaned on the door frame, looking like he had just been face to face with a wild kraken from the oceans of Andros. The shock and fear melted away with one large sigh, replaced with embarrassment. He slid down the door, landing right onto the floor.

Ochako got back up and walked over to him. She slid down the door, landing right next to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Just me,” he muttered.

“Nonsense,” she countered.

He let out another large sigh. “You know that evaluation I was dreading?”

“The one I helped you practice for? What happened?”

“Surprisingly, not nothing,” he said. “Except some broken windows.”

“So that’s why there were glass shards on the courtyard,” she said. She quickly bit her lip. Not the best time to say that. “Sorry, I shouldn't have.”

“No, you’re right,” he said. “That was, somehow, me.”

“I’m sorry…” she said, leaning on him.

“I’m just frustrated more than anything,” he said. “I haven’t been able to get a hold of my powers at all. It seems like I was only able to protect you and Katsuki-chan back when we all met, and then nothing. Or major misfires.” He buried his head in between his knees.

The two sat in silence. Words danced on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t find the ones she needed. She had never struggled like this before. It was just as much a new experience for her as it was for Izuku. Still, it bugged her that she couldn’t find anything to say.

“Sorry to bother you with my problems,” Izuku said, slowly pulling his head out and standing back up. “It isn’t your fault at all, and I shouldn’t make you worry a few hours before the dance.”

“Hey,” she said, standing back up as well. “Don’t.”

“Don’t?”

“Don’t apologize for something like that,” she turned, directly facing him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You just told me what was bothering you. And I’d much rather help you bear any kind of burdens you have than have you go through them alone.”

“Ochako–”

She held her finger up to his mouth. “I don’t wanna hear any kind of counter to what I just said. For now, we’re gonna put this aside. After all, tonight’s a dance, just like you said. Tomorrow we can work together to help you get a better handle on your magic. Maybe even get Momo or Shoto to help. Deal?” She lowered her finger.

He looked away from her, likely at a random corner. He lifted his eyes, meeting her gaze once again. “Got it.”

“Good,” she said. “Now let’s both put that aside and just have fun tonight!”

•••

Humming a random tune, Himiko finished tightening the ribbon around her shirt collar. The white was an excellent contrast against the deep, navy blue of her shirt and pleated skirt. She wore a fancy pair of sneakers, along with white, knee high socks and black fishnets. Her hair was tied up in messy buns. She reached for a pair of navy blue fingerless gloves as she made her way out the door.

The halls of Tartarus were relatively quiet. Most of the students who had shown an inkling of interest in the dance had probably fled to the bus already. Likely the little first years. Dumb wiccas. Most of them were probably going to enjoy themselves, dancing away the first week of school. Betcha none of them were even thinking of messing with the shiny fairies and golden specialists when right next to them.

She slipped her way over to the guys’ side of the dorms with little problem. Nice of the school to not craft another hallway and send her on a wild goose chase. Shapeshifting buildings were the biggest pain to deal with when you’re trying to get somewhere as fast as possible.

She knocked thrice on the door because pausing and knocking thrice again. “Oi, Tomura! Dabi! Open up!”

The door handle began to rattle on its own. A small ‘click’ echoed as the door slid open.

She skipped inside the room before slamming the door shut. “Aw, geez,” she whined. “I just don’t understand why neither of you will give me a key to your room. Make things so much easier.”

“Says the blood witch that keeps a vial of blood on her,” Dabi said, not even looking up from his book. From the looks of it, it was most likely a dated spell book. “Why don’t you just make a key out of it?”

“That’s my emergency blood,” she pouted. “And the only reason I need to carry around emergency blood is because two jerks won’t let me drink theirs when I have to.”

“That’s because I’m not a fan of you sinking your fangs into my neck,” Dabi said. “They feel weird.”

“Grow up, ya baby,” She crossed her arms. “If I used my emergency blood to make a key, then I couldn’t drink it. It would be all dirty and icky. I like my blood to be smooth and clean.”

“I don’t care how you like your blood, as long as it isn’t mine,” Tomura said. 

She turned towards Tomura and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Anyways, what are you doing in here?” He asked, looking back down at the video game he was playing.

“Are you suddenly blind to my outfit?” She gestured at herself.

Tomura looked back at her, glancing up and down. “I don’t understand.”

“The dance!” She said. “It will be crawling with fairies and–”

“–and we’re not going,” Tomura said, returning to his game. “There’s nothing of interest there.”

“Aren’t you two as fun as watching Omega melt,” she pouted. “Besides, it could be fun! Remember when I spiked the punch with a love potion?”

“Pretty sure only you found that amusing,” Dabi said.

“Why do I even hang out with people as boring as you two?” She said. “But there was so much confusion and chaos going on, it was beautiful! Being able to peg it on a first-year fairy was the icing on the cake.”

“That was last year,” Tomura said.

“Well, aren’t you the observant one?” She smirked.

“Last year we could afford to joke around like that,” Tomura continued. He slid a tiny switch on his game, and it stopped glowing. “Last year we could take on side quests that didn’t advance our story progress.” He stood up and walked over to her. “But we can’t waste anymore time like that.”

“I wouldn’t call fun a waste of time…”

“Wasting time at a dance won’t help us get any stronger,” he countered. “Or get us closer to finding the Dragon Flame.”

“Hey. I want the Flame just as much as you two,” she spat. “I just also know when to take a chance to have a little fun.”

“Unless you’re gonna find something like the Scepter of Solaria there, I wouldn’t bother going,” Tomura said. “A silly school dance isn’t gonna hold any kind of keys like a relic with a drop of the Flame.”

“It might have been if Solaria’s princess didn’t get expelled last year…” Himiko mumbled.

“You can go if you want, but I wouldn’t waste my time if I were you,” Tomura said. 

Himiko turned back towards Dabi, hoping for some kind of lifeline. Unfortunately, he was still too busy reading his dusty old book to give a shit. Traitor.

“Whatever,” she sighed, shrugging. “I’m gonna go on ahead, even if I have to do it all by myself. Maybe something will happen there that will give me an idea you’ll be thanking me for later.” She turned on her heel and headed straight towards the door. She turned the handle open and stopped. “You idiots better find a way of making this up to me…”

“Still not letting you drink my blood,” Dabi and Tomura said in unison.

“Dammit!”

•••

“You gotta be shitting me right now.”

Izuku grabbed a jacket and turned towards Katsuki. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t tell me you’re wearing one of those shirts tonight.” He gestured towards Izuku’s top, which had the kanji for ‘formal wear’ printed on it.

“Hey, it fits the mood for tonight,” Izuku shrugged. He slipped on one arm of the jacket. “Besides, I like it.”

“Those shirts are stupid and are the bane of my existence.”

“Sounds like a you problem, Katsuki-chan.”

“Trying to give you fashion advice is like trying to move a building: pointless and a waste of time.” Katsuki pulled on his own shirt.

“Then why do you keep doing it?” Izuku slid on the other arm.

“I don’t know,” Katsuki sighed. “I don’t fucking know.”

Izuku rolled up both sleeves as he walked up to the common room. Looking out through the large windows, he saw the sun starting to set, painting the sky in golden yellows and warm oranges. As he walked up closer to the windows, he noticed strands of lights reaching all over the courtyard. A makeshift dance floor was placed right in the center. There was also a DJ booth, as well as a few tables hosting punch and bowls of food. The layout wasn’t too different from the American movies he sometimes watched with his mom, minus everyone being crammed into a stuffy gym.

Despite trying to distract himself with the view, his stomach was still bouncing all over the place. The guilt from the failed assignment from earlier was still eating away at him. Granted, it wasn’t as intense as before he talked to Ochako, but it was still strong enough to not leave him alone.

“It looks great, doesn’t it?” A familiar voice asked. Izuku flinched before he turned to find Ochako standing next to him.

“Ochako-san! I just—”

“I-zu-ku,” she said.

“Right. Ochako. Just Ochako.”

“That’s better.” She flashed a warm smile at him before stretching her arms up into the air. “Anyways, what were you doing?”

“Just looking at everything set up,” he said. Just that. She didn’t need to know he was still worrying.

“You look great!” She said. “Blue’s a good color on you.”

“Oh!” He started pulling on his jacket sleeves. “Thanks!” He looked closer at Ochako. “You look great too!”

Her top, which was navy blue and showed off her shoulders, was decorated with constellations completely foreign to Izuku. She also wore gray shorts and navy blue sandals. A gray headband adorned her hair, which was sparkling with glitter. Her pin was attached right next to the neckline.

“Aw, thanks!” She said.

“Glad to see you’re joining us tonight,” Kyoka said, walking up to Ochako. She wore a two toned purple shirt, light jeans, black boots filled to the brim with buckles and straps, and a long, sleeveless navy blue coat. “Wouldn’t blame you if you decided to skip tonight ‘cause of…” She started making various hand gestures, ending them all with a small replica of an explosion. “Ya know.”

“Thanks,” Izuku sighed. “Almost forgotten that…”

“Hey, someone was gonna remind you sooner or later,” she shrugged. “Better to get it out of the way now.” She reached towards one of her treble clef earrings, casually tugging on it.

“I guess you’re right…” 

“Excuse me?” A new voice rang out. The three of them turned their heads to see Momo sticking her head out of her door. “Could you all help me out?” She nervously asked. “I’m not quite sure if what I’m wearing is fitting for tonight.”

“I’m sure you look fine!” Ochako said. “Just come on out.”

“Alright then,” Momo opened up her door. The clicking sound of heels echoed in the air, drawing attention to the wedge heels she was wearing. Their laces, which were dotted with golden beads, wrapped all the way up to her knees. She wore a white sundress decorated with a pattern of red flowers. A gray shawl dropped over her arms. Her regular bracelets were still on her wrist, complimented by a few new ones. A black lace choker adorned her neck. She had taken her hair out of its usual ponytail, letting it fall down below her waist.

“You look…” Izuku sputtered, “Wow. You look wow.”

“Holy,” Kyoka said.

“Marry me,” Ochako said, her face incredibly red.

“Did I do something wrong?!” Momo asked, whose face seemed to be glowing bronze. That was odd. Perhaps her blood wasn’t red?

“You totally misjudged the event, that’s what,” Katsuki said, emerging into the common room.

“I did?” Momo asked.

“You absolutely did,” Katsuki said, walking up to her. “First off, the shoes. If I can hear you walking from a thousand meters away, then you’re not gonna last long standing up in them.”

“The room isn’t that big, though,” Momo chuckled. “At least I think so. I’m not sure how long a meter is.”

“We’re not here to compare measuring units, we’re here to help your outfit.”

“Right.”

“So change the shoes,” Katsuki stated. “Get a pair of flats. I don’t care what kind of royal standing-in-heels training you might have had, but a night in heels is asking for pain. And get rid of the shawl while you’re at it. It’s cute but those bitches are hard to keep track of. If you think you’ll be cold, bring a sweater. Also cut down on the glam. You don’t need a fucking jewelry store on your arm.”

“Oh,” Momo gasped. “I guess I might have gone a little too extra…” she tugged at the ends of the shawl.

“If this was a more fancy event, I’d be applauding you while yelling at these dumbasses to shape up,” Katsuki said. “But it’s not.”

“Got it,” Momo said. Then she paused. “I should go make those adjustments now.” She slowly walked back into her room and closed the door.

“Wow,” Kyoka said. “When did you become a fashion expert?”

“My mom would rather die than have a kid who doesn’t know how to look good,” Katsuki replied. “Probably a good thing she wasn’t the one raising Izuku-chan then.”

“Okay, now that’s just harsh,” Izuku said.

“Is it really harsh if it’s the truth?”

“Love you too…” Izuku sighed.

“I didn’t think Shoto would take this long,” Ochako said, rocking back and forth on her heels as she stared at his door. “He seems like a pretty straight forward guy.”

“Oi,” Katsuki walked over to the door and rapped on it. “Hurry up!”

The door opened up, revealing Shoto in the same clothes he was wearing earlier: a turtleneck sweater and jeans.

“Hm?” Ochako said. “You’re not dressing up? Not even a little?”

“Why would I need to?” He asked.

“Cause dances like this are a good excuse to make yourself feel a little nicer!”

“Oh, right,” Shoto crossed his arms. “I wasn’t really going to that.”

“What?” She walked closer to him. “Why not?”

“They’re not really my thing.”

“Come on!” Ochako pressed her lips together. “We’re in high school right now! Living away from home for the first time! Exploring new things! Isn’t this the time where you should break out of your comfort zone and try something different?”

“I guess.” Shoto looked towards the ground.

“Look,” she said, “just come with us for a bit, okay? Thirty minutes. If you aren’t having fun, you can come right back here and spend the rest of the night the way you’d like. But I still think you should give this dance a chance. See if maybe there’s something you like there. If there isn’t, that’s fine. But if there is… you might find yourself having fun.”

Shoto looked up and into her eyes. He let one of his arms fall down to his side. The whole room was silent, as if the fate of the universe was hanging on Shoto’s answer.

“…I’ll give it a try,” he said.

“Great!” Ochako pumped a fist into the air. “You won’t regret it! I mean,” she lowered her fist back down. “you might, but let’s not focus on that. Enjoy the moment!”

•••

The sun had dipped out of sight, the only traces of it left were the stray streaks of deep orange in the sky. The moon was beginning to show itself, though it was still hidden away by the trees. Music echoed through the air, along with the sounds of people attempting to hold conversations. Honestly, it looked like a scene right plucked out of a movie.

If this was a movie, that would have made Shoto the awkward loner in the corner.

His mind was full of second thoughts. It wasn’t that he hated other people. Yet all the noise and people were beginning to overwhelm him. The night’s main saving grace was that he wasn’t cramped up in a room full of important, powerful people for his father to show him off to.

As discreetly as he could, he rolled up one of his sleeves and took a quick glance at his watch. Thirty minutes had just barely passed by. He had held up his end of Ochako’s bargain. He could leave now. 

Slipping away as quietly as possible, Shoto rushed towards the inside of the school. It seemed like the dance couldn’t help but follow him, as he saw some of the second and third years in the halls and on the stairs.

Sighing, he kept going down the hallway. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going. He kept turning down random hallways until he found himself face to face with another door.

Peering through the glass, he saw the back grounds of the school. He quickly opened up the door, slid through, and closed it back up. The music from the dance could still be heard, yet it seemed quieter. Softer. It wasn’t surrounding him at every corner.

There was a small concrete path in the middle of the grass, which Shoto followed. He didn’t have any real purpose being back here. He could have gone back to his room and everything would have been fine. But something didn’t quite sit right about that. Perhaps it felt a little bit like giving up. Perhaps he wanted to be somewhere alone where someone couldn’t find him. He wasn’t quite sure what he felt.

Frog croaks echoed in the air, offering a strange accompaniment to the noises from the dance. Crickets joined in. It was still warm enough for fireflies to be out, as evident by their numerous presence in the sky. They danced in the soft, gentle breezes of the wind.

Shoto couldn’t help but let it all sink in. There was something comforting about nature, something that put him at ease. He couldn’t help but feel calmer around it.

“Nice, isn’t it?” A voice said.

Shoto flinched. Had someone followed him out here? Surely no one did, right? No one was assigned to watch him, to make sure he was doing the right thing at the right time all the time. He wasn't completely chained here. He wasn’t someone else’s toy. He wasn’t—

“Breathe,” the voice said, placing a hand on his back. He looked towards the source of the voice to find that a girl was out here with him. She had long, dark green hair held up in a ponytail. Scales the same color dotted her forearms and legs, which contrasted with her dark brown skin. Her ears were also finned the same shade of green as her scales.

“Find something to focus on,” she said. “Listen to something out here and only think about that. Nothing else.”

Shoto let out a deep breathe he didn’t realize he was holding. He focused back on the sounds of nature surrounding him. The crickets were still there, as well as the frogs. They seemed to be singing in harmony with one another, like they were singing their own symphony. The wind chimed in, carrying the notes while providing its own. Even the fireflies sang their own soft tune.

“What do you hear?” She asked.

“I hear… nature,” he said, voice slightly shaking.

“What does nature sound like?”

“It sounds like… like music,” he said. “It sounds like everything's coming together in its own song.”

“Good,” she said, taking her hand off his back. The two stood in silence, not saying a word to each other. Shoto was too busy listening to the song around him. The strange girl was likely listening to it as well. The song continued to play, sweeping away all the little things that didn’t matter. Time was swept away, along with Shoto’s emotions. He couldn’t feel the fear from earlier. He could only feel calm and relaxed, if only a little bit numb.

“Um,” he eventually said. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” the girl said. “Also, we should probably find somewhere to sit down.”

“Right.”

She grabbed his right hand with her left, the tiniest of webbing brushing across his skin. The two walked slowly, making their way over to a small gazebo. She took them in it before letting go of his hand and sitting down.

Shoto looked around the gazebo’s seats. He wasn’t quite ready to sit next to a stranger, but didn’t want to be rude sitting so far apart from her. Eventually he sat down about a meter or two away from her.

“Lucky for you I was back here, huh?” She said. “Who knows how long you might have been in an attack.”

“Yeah…” he said, not looking her in the eye.

“We shouldn’t dwell on that,” she stated. “Don’t wanna trigger a relapse.”

“Right,” he said.

“Anyways, what’s your reason for being back here? I was pretty sure most people would be stuck to the dance floor all night.”

“I wasn’t really connecting with it,” he answered. “With the dance.”

“I feel you,” she said. “I like being around people, just not like this. I prefer something smaller, less noisy, you know?”

“I think I do,” he said.

“Which school are you from?” She asked. “I don’t recognize your face.”

“Um,” Shoto said, trying to recover from being thrown for a loop. “UA…” He was pretty sure he looked like a deer in headlights.

“I already knew that,” she said, smiling. “I already knew who you were from the moment I saw you. You know, since you’re royalty and all that.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“To make you feel better,” she said. “‘Better’ might not be the best word, but at least you’re not lost in your mind, right?”

“Right…” Shoto said. How did he manage to run into such a strange girl?

“The name’s Tsuyu,” she said. “But you can call me Tsu if you’d like.”

“Tsuyu is fine,” Shoto said.

“Fair enough,” she shrugged. “Tell me a bit more about yourself. Something I wouldn’t know just by looking at you.”

“Um…” he said, fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater. “I like soba.”

“That really is something I wouldn’t know from looking at you,” Tsuyu said. “Cold or hot?”

“Cold.”

“Same as my siblings,” she said. “Pretty sure I’ve memorized the recipe at this point.”

“You have siblings?” Shoto asked.

“All younger,” she said. “We’re all pretty close. One even tried to sneak into my bags to come to school with me.”

“That actually sounds really nice,” he said. “To have such a close family.”

Tsuyu looked at him. “I sense things aren’t picture perfect back home?”

“You could say that.”

“Then I won’t ask,” she said. “Not until you let me.”

“Uh, thanks,” Shoto said.

“Of course,” she said.

“Though,” he said, “tell me more about yours.”

“Really?” Tsuyu asked, her pitch of her voice rising up. “Alright then. Stop me whenever you’d like.”

•••

One hour had passed since the dance began, which was more than enough time for Izuku to realize just how awkward he felt here. Honestly, he counted himself quite lucky for not having to deal with these feelings until now.

The biggest and most obvious source of discomfort was the dance floor itself. It wasn’t that he had two left feet. All things considered, he felt like he had a strong sense of balance. No. What made things awkward was the fact that no one seemed to be dancing. Unless jumping up and down was counted as dancing. Eventually it felt so unnatural and strange that he couldn’t even find himself faking it.

There were other, smaller things that made the whole situation awkward. The fact there was so little to do besides dance. The fact there was a strange pressure in the air to stay as long as possible. The fact that the few people he did know had been scattered in the wind, which pretty much left him alone in a sea of strangers.

All things considered, Izuku wasn’t quite sure how anyone found these things fun.

In the hopes that maybe some kind of answer would magically pop up, he found himself lingering around the food. Not that he was touching much of it. He wasn’t really that hungry. It was just a good place to be that wouldn’t make him feel like everyone had their eyes on him.

“I’m starting to think everyone here is crazy for finding these fun,” Katsuki said, walking up to him.

“Come join the club,” Izuku sighed. “At least you seemed to blend in well with everyone out there.”

“It’s not that hard, but it’s not worth my energy,” he said.

“Fair,” Izuku said.

Izuku couldn’t find much else to say. Not that he really needed to. He was just fine watching everyone else, and it seemed like Katsuki was too.

Despite all the dance floor people being clustered together, Izuku could still get a good look at quite a lot of people. As if drawn like a magnet, he couldn’t help but focus on all the little details that made things different than home. Like the wide range of skin tones. It wasn’t just the supernatural colors that caught his eye. He noticed a wide range of tones, from dark brown to pale peaches and everywhere in between. And how no one seemed to bat at eye at that. It was a much welcomed change of pace from the monotone crowds back home, where he would stand out like a light in the dark just by having more than the average amount of melanin.

Then his gaze drifted over to the more fantastical features, the things that made him feel like he stepped into a storybook come to life. The pointed ears, the natural horns. How some people had dark sclera while others had fish scales. That fact one boy had an actual crow’s head. Izuku couldn’t help but feel rather plain looking compared to everyone else. Back home, he stood out like a sore thumb. Here, he could get lost in a crowd and never be found.

“Hey, you!” A voice called out.

“Are— are you talking about me?” Izuku flinched, pointing at himself.

“Yes I am!” The voice was louder this time. He couldn’t hear any footsteps over the music, but Izuku was sure the person was coming towards him.

A bright pink girl popped out from a corner of the dance floor. There was barely a part of her that wasn’t pink. Her skin, hair, and fur were all tinted bubblegum pink, like someone had dumped a bucket of paint over her the moment she was born. It was a minor miracle her horns and eyes weren’t pink either, rather a bright yellow, which made the dark gray of her sclera stand out even more. She really seemed to like bright colors, if her purple shirt and green shorts were an indicator.

“I’ve seen you stuck to the side of this table like you’re glued to it!” She said. “Why don’t you come out and have some fun?”

“Well,” Izuku began, “I, uh—”

“Mina!” Another voice called out, struggling to break free from the crowd. “Stop dragging people into things they don’t want to do!”

“But Eijiro!” She said, turning toward him. “You’re supposed to be having fun here, and I don’t want anyone to miss out on it!”

“Maybe they’re having fun in their own way,” the boy— Eijiro— said. He stopped right next to her and looked at Izuku. “Sorry about my cousin. She’s a bit overeager when it comes to stuff like this.”

“I’m not overeager!” Mina protested.

“You tried to set off enchanted fireworks earlier to start the dance.”

“That would have been awesome!”

“It would have been a disaster.”

“No, I’m with Pinky here,” Katsuki interjected. “This whole thing is too boring. I’d gladly welcome some chaos to spice it up.”

“See?” Mina said, pointing at Katsuki. “Someone else agrees!”

“I still stand by my earlier statement,” Eijiro said, scratching the back of his neck. “Besides, if Aunt Ilaria found out, she’d find a way to ground you for a month.”

“Lucky for me, Mama can’t touch me while I’m here!” Mina smirked.

“Wait,” Izuku said. “You two are cousins?”

“Yep! Though, Eiji might as well be my brother considering how much he hovers over me.” Mina nudged him in the ribs.

“Out of the two of us, I somehow have the brain cells,” he said. “And the person with the brain cells has to watch over the other.”

Izuku couldn’t help but stare at both of them. They couldn’t look more different. Eijiro had dark, tan skin and stood at least a head over Mina. His red hair was stiff while Mina’s curled everywhere. His eyes faded from gray to red, with the same odd shine as Momo’s. He didn’t sport the same hooves and legs as Mina. Really, the only things similar about them were their square ears and stocky figures. Man, genetics were a mystery here.

“But just consider coming back out, please?” Mina said. “It would be good to meet some more people. You know, since both of you are super new to the Dimension and such.”

“New to the Dimension?” Eijiro asked. “What does that mean?”

“Considering how fast the news spread around this school,” Katsuki said, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard about the freakout over students from Earth.” He rolled his eyes at the end. Not that Izuku blamed him. Any sane person would find it odd and possibly annoying that being from Earth wasn’t considered a normal thing.

“Mina kept mentioning something about people from Earth over the last week, but I thought she was pulling my leg!” Eijiro said.

“Hey!” she pouted. “I’d never joke about something so serious!”

“In light of this new information,” Eijiro said, standing up straight like he was a royal announcer, “I must pledge my allegiance to Mina and support her in getting you two more involved.”

“Oh, great,” Katuski muttered.

“Dude,” Eijiro said. “It won’t be that bad. I’ll just introduce you to some friends of mine, get you dancing a bit more, then let go to do whatever you want to. Deal?”

“If it gets you off my back, then sure,” Katsuki said.

“Great!” Eijiro grabbed Katsuki’s hand before diving back into the crowd, shocking Katsuki.

“Is… is Katsuki-chan gonna be okay?” Izuku asked.

“Absolutely,” Mina said. “Trust me, my cousin can make even the hardest nuts crack and open up. Now come on!” She grabbed his hand, not even Izuku a single second to process what was going on before he too was dragged into the crowd.

Being in the middle of a large crowd of people was like being thrown into a wild storm on the sea. Everything was moving around and it was hard to navigate through it. Izuku could feel himself slipping out of Mina’s grip, leaving him to the abyss of people.

Shuffling his way through, something elbowed him hard, knocking him off his balance. Luckily the crowd was so thick that his face didn’t meet the ground, but it still took him a while to regain his footing.

And then he bumped into something else.

It was fairly blunt and hard. Not enough to cut skin, but certainly enough to hurt. He quickly jumped away as much as he could, rubbing his arm.

“Well, that could have gone better,” he muttered.

“You okay?” Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw a girl with tan skin, long blonde hair, and a large pair of horns staring at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “I didn’t mean to bump into you. That didn’t hurt you, did it?”

“Nah,” she said, pointing up to her horns. “These babies are tougher than steel. It’s gonna take a lot more than your clumsiness to rough ‘em up.”

“I wouldn’t call myself clumsy…” Izuku said, lightly tightening the grip on his arm.

“I’d call someone bumping into people left and right to be clumsy,” she said. “Pretty sure most others would too.”

‘She’s totally oblivious to the large crowd around us, isn’t she?’ Izuku thought.

“Anyways, name’s Pony!” She held her hand out to him with a large smile on her face.

“Mido— I mean Izuku,” he said, carefully taking her hand. 

“Mido-Izuku,” she said, violently shaking her hand up and down. “What a funny name!” 

“It’s just Izuku,” he said. “And could you let go of my arm?!” Her grip was incredibly tight, enough to rival Mina’s death grip from earlier.

“Sorry!” She said, letting go with no warning. “My friends say I don’t know my own strength, especially when I’m excited.” Her ears, which closely resembled a horse’s, folded down.

“They aren’t kidding,” he said, gently rubbing his hand.

“Say, that’s a nice ring you got on your hand,” she said, pointing to it. “What’s it for? Or do you just like wearing them to feel fancy?”

“It’s for a translation spell,” Izuku said. “I need a bit of extra help in that department.”

“But shouldn’t the spells on the schools be enough?” Pony asked, ear twitching. “I mean, they’re supposed to cover all known languages and—” Her ears perked straight up, almost like a startled cat. “Wait a moment!” Her eyes light up like the stars above. “You must be one of the new kids! The ones from Earth!” She grabbed both his hands and squeezed tight. “Oh man, I got so many questions to ask! Like were you born there or did you move there? How’d you practice magic? Are there really five billion realms there?”

“Pony,” A new voice said. A girl with orange hair and freckles pushed her way through, placing a hand on Pony’s shoulder. “Maybe don’t bombard him with questions? And also don’t lock his hands into a death grip?”

“Oh!” She looked down at the accurately described death grip before quickly letting go. “Didn’t even realize I’d done that again!”

“I noticed…” Izuku said, shaking them both. Maybe if he shook hard enough he could get some feeling back into them.

“I see you’ve met Pony already,” the new girl said.

“You can say that again.”

“I’m her roommate, Itsuka,” the girl said. “And you?”

“He told me earlier his name is Mido-Izuku!” Pony blurted.

“It’s just Izuku,” he sighed.

“Huh,” Itsuka said. “Wonder where Pony got her name from.”

“It’s a long story,” Izuku said.

“Not really,” Pony countered.

“Well, I can hear that long-but-not-really-long story later,” she said, taking a good look at him. “Besides, you probably wanna get out of this crowd right now, don’t you?”

“How did you know?” Izuku asked.

“It’s written all over your face,” she said, pointing at him.

“Oh,” Izuku said. He could feel his face warming up.

“Follow me,” she said, pushing her way through more people. Izuku was right on her tail, not wanting to lose her to the crowd.

Finally he pushed through the last cluster of people and back into the open. There was a cool breeze blowing, a refreshing treat compared to the hot crowd. He looked back at the crowd and noticed Pony popping through.

“Something up?” Itsuka asked.

“Well,” Izuku said, “I kinda got a good friend lost in there, plus someone else I just met.”

“I’d say your goodbyes now,” Pony said. “He’ll be lost in there ‘till the end of the night.”

“You know you don’t have to be so extra, right?” Itsuka sighed.

“I don’t?” Pony asked, pointing at herself.

“Well,” Itsuka said, ignoring Pony. “I don’t know about you two, but I could go for a drink. You in?”

With Katsuki lost to the crowd and the rest of his friends scattered about, it wasn’t like Izuku had much to do otherwise. “Sure, why not?”

She twirled on her foot and made her way over to the other food table, both Izuku and Pony following suit. As they got closer, Izuku couldn’t help but notice a couple of familiar faces.

“Momo-san!” He called out.

Momo flinched slightly before turning towards him. “There you are, Izuku. It’s good to see you again.” She looked around the courtyard. “Where are the others?”

“Katsuki-chan got dragged into the mob on the dance floor,” Izuku said.

“Well maybe he’ll find Ochako out there,” Momo said, looking at the dancers.

“You’ve lost two brave souls tonight,” Pony said. “Such tragedy.”

“Is she okay?” Diaspro asked. “Why is she talking about the dance floor like it’s a battlefield?”

“She’s just overdramatic,” Itsuka said.

“Last I saw Kyoka,” Momo said, “she was going off to talk with someone. Though I haven’t seen Shoto. Have you?”

“Not a trace,” Izuku said.

“Must have gone back to his room,” she said, looking up at the dorms.

Someone let out a loud cough, and Izuku turned to face the mysterious new voice. “I understand how difficult it is to engage in taxing social events, but it still is rude to leave them so early.” 

Izuku racked his mind trying to remember if he had seen this person before. He had dark navy blue hair, a bold contrast to the red eyes behind his glasses. He wore a white button up shirt, and despite it being summer, he was wearing dark grey pants.

“I see I have not introduced myself yet,” he said, holding his hand out. “Tenya Iida.”

“Izuku Midoriya,” he said, cautiously grabbing the open hand. Unlike Pony’s death grip, Tenya’s was firm yet still allowed for blood flow.

“Hey, you actually got your name order right!” Diaspro said. “Momo was telling me about you mixing it up all the time.”

“Dia,” Momo said. “It’s not that he’s been doing it wrong his whole life. He’s just adjusting to the different way we do things here.”

“She is right,” Tenya said, swinging one of his arms down as if he was chopping something. “Right before you arrived, Momo was telling him about you and the rest of the students in your dorm.”

“She was?” Izuku said, flaring bright red.

“Of course,” Tenya said. “After all, I had asked her how she was getting along with roommates. I was curious as to how she felt about them.” He paused the same moment Izuku felt his face flare up even more. “I can assure you, she said all good things!”

“That’s a relief,” Izuku sighed. He felt his face begin to cool down as he regained his composure. “How do you know her?”

“We ran into each other a lot as children,” Tenya said, slightly pushing up his glasses. “Our realms are on good terms with one other, so our parents would arrange quite a few trade deals and treaties.”

“I see,” Izuku said, still trying to wrap his head around the fact it was just a common thing here to run into royalty.

“You seem tense,” Tenya said. “Was it something I said?”

“No! No!” Izuku exclaimed. “It’s nothing! I’m just not used to being around famous people!”

“Famous?” Tenya asked.

“That would be a good word to describe me,” Diaspro said, flipping her hair.

“You’re not really helping right now,” Momo sighed.

“Yes? No?” Izuku heard his voice crack. “I mean, it’s just that back where I’m from, you usually don’t go to class with politicians’ children. They tend to go to really fancy schools, if not homeschooled.”

“You are aware all three schools here tonight are the best in the Dimension, right?” Pony asked.

“Not until now,” Izuku sighed.

“You don’t have to give him so much grief,” Itsuka said.

“I was just reminding him!” She countered.

Suddenly the music began to slow down. The graceful sounds of a piano rang through the air, accompanied by a woman’s voice. The dance crowd stopped bouncing up and down, before reorganizing itself. People began reaching out for someone else’s hand, and started slow dancing.

“Kinda glad they started playing a slow song right about now,” Ochako said, walking up to the group. “Gives me a good excuse to leave the dance floor.”

“Slow dances aren’t your thing?” Izuku asked.

“Kinda,” Ochako said, scratching the back of her head. “I mean, I’ve never really done one, but I don’t mind the idea of doing them. Especially when they’re romantic.”

“That is a completely valid reason to enjoy them,” Tenya said. “While I personally do not swing that way, I can understand the romantic appeal of a slow dance.”

“If you enjoy them so much, then why did you leave the floor when a slow song started playing?” Pony asked, leaning towards Ochako.

“Mostly cause I don’t have someone to dance with,” she said, blushing. “Hard to slow dance on your own.”

“I could help you!” Izuku blurted out.

“Huh?” Ochako gasped.

“I, uh,” Izuku stuttered, blushing while realizing just exactly what he said. “What I meant to say was that—”

“Ah, I never knew you were the player type,” Diaspro said, smirking.

“You got it totally wrong!” Izuku was positive his face was bright red now. “I’m totally not like that at all! I’m the total opposite!”

“So you’re the hard to get type, then?” Diaspro asked.

“No!”

“Dia,” Momo placed a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe go a little easier with the teasing—”

“Off you go, Mister hot stuff,” Diaspro slid Momo’s hand off and slipped right behind Izuku. The next thing he knew, he was shoved forward into Ochako’s arms.

“Well,” Izuku said, staring into Ochako’s eyes. “This is a first for me.”

“I can see that,” she chuckled.

“Would you,” he said, doing his best to push down the nervous-sick feeling in his stomach. “Would you like this dance?”

Ochako smiled at him. “I’d love one.”

She grabbed his arm and started gently pulling him onto the dance floor. She looked back at the group. “Hey, Diaspro!” She called out. “You should join us! Bet you could out-waltz all of us with your training.”

“While I could do that, I’d rather watch you two try dancing for the first time,” she shrugged.

“Actually,” Momo said, “I think it would be fun.”

Izuku looked back over his shoulder to see Diaspro looking surprised. Honestly, he wasn’t sure she could look anything but confident.

“Come on,” Momo smirked, grabbing Diaspro’s hand. “At the very least you’ll get a taste of your own medicine.” 

“What are you—” Before she could finish her thought, she was quickly yanked onto the dance floor. Momo had a huge smile on her face, giggling all the way.

Izuku turned back towards Ochako. “Well, that just happened.”

“You know what they say,” she said. “The more the merrier!”

The song was roughly halfway over as Izuku held up Ochako’s arms. He had seen his parents slow dance a few times, though they had been goofing around in the kitchen.

“I feel like you should know I’m going into this completely blind,” he said.

“That makes two of us,” Ochako said.

They both looked down at their shoes as they started swaying with the rhythm. A few steps back, a few steps forward, repeat. Don’t go too fast, don’t step on the other’s shoes. Step, step step.

Eventually Izuku looked back up, only to see Ochako had lifted her head up as well. Their eyes met and her face lit up with a large smile. Izuku couldn’t help but flash a smile of his own back at her.

The song started to fade away, as if someone had turned down the volume. The music then stopped, and so did Izuku. Ochako accidentally took a step forward, nearly stepping on his toes while only a few inches away from his face. As soon as she realized just how close she was, she took a large step backwards.

“Sorry if I weirded you out at all!” She said, holding her hands up. “I didn’t realize the music had stopped and accidentally kept going!”

“You’re fine, you’re fine!” Izuku said. “Not a big deal at all!”

“Oh thank the Dragon,” she placed a hand on her chest as she sighed. “Would have been bad if I weirded you out.”

“Aw!” A bubbly voice said. “Look at all the cute first year couples!”

“Nejire, you’re freaking them out,” a calmer, timid voice countered.

“Just relax, Tamaki,” an energetic voice replied. “I bet most of them didn’t even notice.”

Izuku looked over towards the source of the voices, seeing two boys and one girl standing at the edge of the dance floor. One boy stood tall with a strong figure, his blond hair flared up. The other boy, who looked like he wanted to disappear, had wild black hair that nearly covered his pointed ears. The girl had the longest hair Izuku had ever seen, and it nearly looked like she was floating on air.

“Mirio’s right, Tamaki,” the girl said, squeezing the shorter boy’s cheeks. “You’re just freaking out like normal.”

“Still,” the boy— Tamaki— said. “you don’t know if all the first years that danced are actually couples. They could just be friends.”

“I don’t know,” the taller boy— Mirio— said. “Nejire’s pretty good at picking up at stuff like this.” He elbowed Tamaki.

“See, Mirio believes in me!” The girl— Nejire— said, letting go of Tamaki’s cheeks. “Why can’t you be as good of a boyfriend as he is.”

“You know Mirio and I are like night and day, right?” Tamaki sighed.

“I know,” Nejire winked. “Besides, I’m just messing with you. You know I love you as you are.”

Mirio wrapped Tamaki up in a large hug. “Come on, let’s find someone where it's less crowded. Would that help?”

“Greatly,” Tamaki smiled.

The three of them walked away, all while Izuku couldn’t help but stare at them. “What was that?”

Ochako looked over her shoulder before turning back. “Oh, those three? They’re nicknamed the Big Three of the Trinity. They’re all the top of each of their schools: Mirio for Shiketsu, Tamaki for Tartarus, and Nejire for UA. I’ve also heard from a couple upperclassmen that they’re also the most iconic couple.”

“Couple?” Izuku asked. “Like, dating?”

“Yep!”

“But there’s three of them. Doesn’t anyone find that… you know…” he started scratching the back of his head. “Weird?”

“Not really,” Ochako said. “Most people here don’t really think twice about poly relationships like them. I’m guessing it’s different back on Earth?”

“Very different,” Izuku said. “Most people start freaking out if two guys are together. The idea of three people being together isn’t exactly met with open arms.”

“You know,” Ochako said, “the more I learn about Earth, the more I can’t help but think it kinda sucks.”

“Hey!” Izuku said. “It’s not all bad!”

“The lack of magic is already a huge drawback,” Ochako smirked. “And you’re not helping its case with the stuff you keep telling me.”

“Remind me to show you YouTube if I ever find a way to connect to the Internet,” Izuku said. “That might change your mind.”

“Youtube must be really impressive, then,” Ochako chuckled.

“Yeah…” he said. The nervous-sick feeling from earlier was still bouncing around in his stomach. It should have calmed down by now, yet it strangely felt worse. 

“We should probably go find the others,” Ochako said. As if on cue, she spotted someone out of the corner of her eye. She turned towards them. “Hey, Kyoka! Over here!”

Izuku looked over in the same direction and saw Kyoka approaching, along with a strangely smug looking Selina. “Where were you two?”

“Checking out her pet snake,” Kyoka answered.

“What can I say,” Selina shrugged. “I’m a proud mama.”

“Aw,” Ochako said, face lighting up. “What’s its name?”

“Sasuke,” Selina answered.

“Sasuke?” Izuku asked, being thrown for a loop at the simple mention of that name. “Like the Naruto character?”

He was met with three different sets of stares. Ochako simply looked puzzled, while Kyoka’s stare cut into him ever so slightly. Selina’s stare was bubbling with curiosity if the dangerous gleam in her eyes was anything to go by.

“What’s a Naruto?” Kyoka asked.

If Izuku hadn’t been emotionally shoved into the rudder before, he certainly had now. “I think I’m gonna have a stroke.”

“Shit, you okay?!” Kyoka asked. Ochako placed her arm on Izuku’s back.

“I’m fine, I promise,” Izuku reassured. “It’s just that Naruto is such a well known show back home that it feels pretty weird to meet people who haven’t heard of it.”

“A show, huh?” Selina asked. “You’ll have to introduce it to me sometime. I kinda like to collect stories.”

“Sure…” Izuku said. The strange feeling in his stomach churned even more, screaming for attention. It ached like nothing else he felt before. Not even his one run in with a stomach bug hurt this much.

“Izuku?” Ochako asked. “Is something wrong? You look really bad.”

“Nope,” he lied. “Everything’s just fine.”

“Just give it a moment,” Selina said. “It will be over in a little bit.”

“How do you know this?” Izuku asked.

“Because I might have snuck something into the punch a while before the dance started,” she quickly answered.

“What?” Ochako nearly yelled.

“Is that why you wanted to come back?” Kyoka asked, panicked.

“I will neither confirm or deny that statement.”

The intense discomfort shot up through his body. His throat burned as something was starting to force its way out of his mouth. It itched and tickled and tasted so unnatural. With nowhere to run in such a short time, he covered his mouth and let some out of whatever was coming up.

Only to feel flower petals on his hands.

He lowered his hands and stared at them.

A cluster of purple petals were scattered across his hands. Some of the petals started out white before fading into the same shade of purple as the others. The longer he looked at them, the more confused he felt. 

“How did—” he was cut short by a series of coughs, all letting out their own clusters of mysterious petals. It was kinda beautiful the way they fell to the ground if you ignored the fact Izuku had coughed them up.

“Hm,” Selina said, looking at the mess on the floor. “Hard to tell, but I’m guessing they’re Dragon’s Mouths.”

“How are you so calm right now?!” Izuku screeched. He could hear other people around him entering coughing fits of their own.

“Relax,” she said. “This is harmless. It should wear off in a couple minutes. I’m not stupid enough to use an actual hanahaki spell in a prank. This is just a watered down one. Besides, you say how serious Aizawa looked when he said no pranks. Doing something serious would not be a good idea.”

Izuku gritted his teeth together. “Because this plan certainly was…”

“Your fault for drinking the punch,” she said.

“I wouldn’t have drank the punch if I knew it would lead to coughing up flowers!”

“I think this is a good moment to turn in for the night,” Ochako said, voice shaking. “Besides. I start my job tomorrow. Don’t wanna be yawning the whole time.”

“You found a job?” Izuku asked, ignoring the strange taste of flowers in his mouth.

“Yep! You’re looking at White Horse Cafe’s newest employee!”

“That’s great!” Izuku said.

“You go, girl!” Kyoka said, holding out her hand. Ochako high fives her, a loud, satisfying ‘smack’ ringing through the air.

“Thanks! Though, it would be a bad impression if I showed up to work all tired and such,” Ochako said.

“You two head in,” Kyoka said, shooing them off. “I think I’m gonna stay out a bit longer, if only to see if Selina gets caught.”

“Hey!” Selina yelled.

“Wait, why are you sending me away?” Izuku asked.

“Dude,” she scoffed. “Right now, I can read your face like an open book. And right now that book is saying it’s tired and just wants a normal night.”

“Damn, you’re good.”

“I’ve had practice,” she said. “By the way, did anyone else we know drink the spiked punch?”

“I think Momo did.”

“I should go check on her,” Kyoka said. She grabbed Selina’s hand and dragged her away.

“Why am I coming along?” Selina asked.

“You’re the reason people are going through this floral mess tonight,” Kyoka stated. “Even if the staff doesn’t catch you, you still should pay for this somehow.”

“Fair enough.”

•••

To his surprise, Izuku was the first one back to the dorms. He would have guessed Shoto would be the first to return, but he was nowhere to be found.

The rest of the night was quiet and uneventful. Ochako quickly rushed off to use the showers before turning into her room for the night. Izuku retried into his room as well, though he wasn’t quite ready to call it a day. Instead, he picked up one of the books he had checked out. Flipping it open where he left off, he began reading about, of all things, an influential cult on Solaria. 

Sometime later— Izuku wasn’t sure how much time had passed— the door opened up. He placed the book down (which had somehow switched from cults to cowboys) and looked up.

“Katsuki-chan?” He asked.

“Should I be surprised you’re back before me? No,” he said. “Yet I’m still surprised.”

Katsuki walked over to his desk and dropped a small crumpled piece of paper on it before collapsing onto his bed. 

“What’s on the desk?” Izuku asked.

“None of your business,” Katsuki grunted.

Curiosity got the better of Izuku and he rushed over to grab it. He opened the paper as quickly as he could. He could make out a phone number before the paper was snatched out of his hands.

“Don’t go through my stuff!” Katsuki said.

“Whose number was that?”

“Huh?”

“There was a number on the paper,” Izuku pointed to Katsuki’s iron grip on the small slip. “Who’s it from?”

“It’s none of your business,” Katsuki said.

“It’s that Eijiro guy, right?”

“Maybe…”

“Impressive,” Izuku smirked. “How did you even get it?”

Katsuki shot a death glare at Izuku before sighing. “We might have spent a lot of time together after he dragged me into the dance. After the slow dance started, we kinda dipped and hung out alone for a while. We spent a lot of time talking after that.”

“Not gonna lie,” Izuku said, “but that sounds like the start of an American romcom.”

“Shut up,” Katsuki said.

“You can’t shut up the truth.”

“I’m going to bed,” Katsuki said. “At least then I don’t have to listen to you slander me.”

“Love you too, Katsuki-chan.”

•••

Himiko banged on the door. “Hey, open up!”

The door flung open all on its own and Himiko bolted inside.

“So, find anything special?” Dabi smirked.

“No,” Himiko crossed her arms.

“Knew it,” he said.

“Shut up, idiot,” she glared at him. “At least I came out of tonight with a plan.”

“A plan?” Tomura asked. “What kind of quest could you make?”

“Well,” she said, “I couldn’t exactly snoop around the school as freely as I would have liked, so I snooped around the party instead. And I just so happened to hear one of those annoying fairies who got in our way not too long ago…”

“What could they possibly offer us?” Dabi asked before scoffing. “Besides more trouble, that is?”

“A free pass into the school to pick up something powerful,” A wicked smile crept up on Himiko’s face.

“What are you talking about?” Tomura raised an eyebrow.

Himiko simply chuckled as she pulled out a pair of sunglasses. “What better way not to get caught,” she placed the glasses on, “than to pretend to be one of the students?”

“You’re crazy,” Dabi said.

“Why thank you.”

“Besides, how would you even pull something like that off without getting caught?”

“Simple,” she said. “You don’t do it on campus. And I just so happened to hear that one of those fairies is gonna be spending a lot of time off campus very soon…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! I actually plan on skipping the Black Mud Swamp episode, since I couldn't really think of something interesting to do with it. Which means the next arc/episodes to tackle are the ones with Stella's ring getting stolen. But how am I tackling that if Stella is back at Solaria here? I got plans on what to kidnap instead of a ring...
> 
> Please considering leaving a kudos and/or comment if you enjoyed it, as well as sharing it around with friends!
> 
> On a similar note, consider following me on Tumblr for art and fandom content!  
> https://catlliecal.tumblr.com
> 
> See y'all around!

**Author's Note:**

> Gonna keep it short and sweet. Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll stick around for more! I really can't wait to share the rest of this AU with you all! Have a nice day!


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